Chakwera defends appointment of his daughter


Malawi President Lazarus Chakwera has defended the decision to appoint his daughter Violet Chakwera to a diplomatic mission in Brussels saying people did not complain when Violet was on the road campaigning with him and taking care of his campaign team.

“In fact, people did not say anything at all when I crisscrossed this country with my daughter campaigning and she taking care of those who were doing that,” said President Chakwera in an interview with CNN.

The president appeared to concede that his daughter was appointed to the mission, contradicting his earlier stance when he was interviewed by the BBC.

He, however, distanced himself saying it was the Ministry of Foreign Affairs which appoints people in other diplomatic positions.

“I appoint ambassadors and deputy ambassadors. It is the ministry of foreign affairs that appoint workers in other grades following needed procedures and processes that this one qualifies and this one doesn’t qualify.”

Eisenhower Nduwa Mkaka, Foreign Affairs Minister, also told Zodiak this week that, Chakwera’s daughter was indeed appointed to the diplomatic mission in Brussels “On a lower position being Malawian”.

Ironically, Chakwera oversees underpinnings of any ministry including that of Foreign Affairs as the President is the Head of the Cabinet which, in theory, means Chakwera appointed his daughter to the role.

The decision to send Violet to Brussels was described as fake news by Chakwera in an interview with BBC, despite State House initially defending the decision saying Violet is Malawian and qualified for the role.

“She is qualified and capable to do the job. The only sin is that she is the president’s daughter. That is unfair and worrisome,” said the then State House Press Secretary, Brian Banda in July.

Banda further argued that Violet Chakwera, said to have been appointed as third undersecretary to the mission, went through normal recruitment processes and she was vetted, a line that President Chakwera evidently towed in his interview with CNN.

But according to her LinkedIn profile, the president’s daughter obtained her degree from a ‘Jerusalem’ University banned in the country for operating without accreditation. She also claims on her profile to have an IATA training certification.

She previously worked as reservation sales agent for Kenyan Airways and Malawi airlines. After the scandal broke, State House revealed that the president’s daughter had now been appointed as Personal Assistant of her mother, First Lady Monica Chakwera.

Chakwera’s U-turn is not all shocking having illustrated such traits in previous occasions. The U-turn which depicted in his CNN interview with regards to his daughter’s appointment was picked up by Mkaka – suggesting it is the set of propaganda State House will now parrot – after singing the song that the President sung on BBC’s Hard Talk.

2 thoughts on “Chakwera defends appointment of his daughter

  1. The reason because PEOPPE did not complain when violet was campaigning for chakwera is that chakwera had lied to PEOPPE that he wants malawi for all and he wants to stop ntchito zolembana pachibale. Also people thought family matters stay within the family, if a daughter cooks for a father and washes his clothes or go round the country telling people to vote for his father the daughter is doing her role I’m the family by supporting family members the rewards is that her father has the job of his life . That’s family business. However if the father decide to reward the child by giving her a government job job to the disadvantage of other fair recruitment a qualifying malawian who has the right to get a job is within right to complain that chakwera is being corrupt as you cant reward people who helped you in your personal life using state resources ime offering them a job. This is what malawians hated between Tembo and kadzamila and many other related seniors. They also hated it during muluzi when he did that to his RELATIVES inc first lady..we also did like ot during BINGU when he went to take him rother peter..it was hated during peter and it is being hated during chakwera, remember the resources which u use to rise will also be the means to come down

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