Sam Mpasu is a Malawian politician, author, and former diplomat — He served as Minister of Commerce, Secretary General of the United Democratic Front (UDF) in 1999, and speaker of the Malawi National Assembly.[1]
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He was a student at Dedza secondary school and went to University of Malawi's Chancellor College.[2]
He served as a diplomat in the foreign service for the Malawi mission to Germany. He wrote a book in 1975 entitled, 'Nobodys Friend', which got him arrested because the Kamuzu Banda regime thought that it was written about Kamuzu Banda.[3] He was arrested without trail for, "two year, one month, one week, and one day" in Mukuyu Prison.[4] He served as Minister of Commerce, Education, and Speaker of the Malawi House of Assembly. His appointment as a minister of commerce was met with a lot of resistance since he was the speaker of the house at that time.[5] The court attempted to block President Bakili Muluzi from posting him to this position.[6]
On April 8, 1997 whilst he was UDF Secretary General, during a civil servant strike where civil servants were demanding higher salaries as recommended by the Chatsika Report, he was pelted with stones in Zombawhilst driving his own car to the Parliament Building.[7] He was hit in the jaw.[8]
In 2008 A Malawian court charged him with a six-year prison sentence over corruption charges dating back 14 years.[9] He was accused of receiving kickbacks h for awarding a British company, Fieldyork a deal to provide Malawi with millions of notebooks and pencil when he served as Minister of Education.[10] He was released from jail in 2010 instead of 2014 due to good behavior.[11]