The Honorable Justice Richard Banda, SC is a Malawian barrister at law and athlete. He was born in the Northern part of Malawi. He is a judge and former Chief Justice of Malawi and Swaziland and Minister of Justice in Malawi. He was president of Commonwealth Magistrates' and Judges' Association and Commonwealth Secretariat Arbitral Tribunal. As a sportsman he is a track and field athlete and soccer player. in the Malawi High Court. He was a Malawi chief Justice until 2002. He is now in private practice [1] He is lso the spouse of the vice President of Malawi, Joyce Banda.
Contents |
Banda played soccer for Malawi.[2] He was the captain of the Malawi National Team, "The Malawi Flames" and was later President of the Football Association of Malawi. As a track and field athlete, he represented Malawi in the High Jump. He later became the President of the Olympic and Commonwealth Games Association of Malawi.[3]
Banda, SC was called to the Bar by the Honorable Society of Gray's Inn in July 1966.[4] He then worked with the Malawi Government Legal Service until 1970 in Malawi. He was appointed the Director of Public Prosecution by the President of Malawi Kamuzu Banda and later served as acting Solicitor General and Secretary for Justice. In April 1972 he was appointed Attorney General and became the first Malawian to be created Senior Counsel. He worked in these two roles until 1974 when he became Minister of Justice and Attorney General and was also responsible for the Portfolio of Local Government until his resignation in 1976.[5] In 1980, he re entered the Judicial Service to fill the newly created office of Chief Resident Magistrate. In November 1980 he was appointed a Judge of the High Court and Supreme Court of Malawi.[6] In 1992 he was appointed as the first black Chief Justice of Malawi until 2002.[7] He was the President of the Commonwealth Magistrates' and Judges' Association (CMJA) from 2000-2003.
He was the Chief Justice of Swaziland.[8] He spoke against corruption and backlogs in the Swaziland Criminal Justice System.[9] He was succeeded by Michael Mathealira Ramolibeli after he retired due to his health.[10]
He is married to Malawi's Vice President, Joyce Banda.[12]