George Chaponda

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Dr. George T. Chaponda born (November 1, 1942 in Chonde Village, Mulanje District), is a Malawian diplomat and politician. He is a former Minister for Justice and Constitutional Affairs.[1]

Chaponda studied at the University of Delhi from 1963 to 1968 where he received degrees in history and political science. He studied law at the University of Zambia from 1976–79 and at Yale University from 1980 to 1984. He was admitted to the Bar in 1980.

He held a number of senior positions in Zambia including Chief Executive of a parastal organisation. From 1984 to 2002, he worked mostly as a senior lawyer for the Office for the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees in Somalia, Kenya, Thailand, Bangladesh, Switzerland, Austria, Poland and Ethiopia. From 2003-2004 he was Chairman of the University Council of the University of Malawi. In 2004 Chaponda entered Malawian politics and was elected as a Member of Parliament for the Mulanje South West. In June 2004, he was appointed Foreign Minister in the cabinet of the newly elected president Bingu wa Mutharika. He served in that position until 2005, when he was appointed Minister of Local Government and Rural Development for Malawi. After the elections in May 2009, he was appointed Minister of Education. In 2010 George Chaponda was appointed Minister of Justice and Constitutional Affairs.

Air Fouling Legislation

In February 2011, Chaponda said that a clause in the Local Courts bill making it a misdemeanor to "vitiate the atmosphere" would criminalize flatulence to "promote decency".[2] He told the private Capital Radio's popular ‘Straight Talk’ programme: "Would you be happy to see people farting anyhow?". The story was quickly picked up by the foreign press.[3] The Solicitor General Anthony Kamanga contradicted him, saying the bill referred only to air pollution.[2] Later, Chaponda retracted his remarks, saying he had not read the proposed bill before commenting.[3]

Personal

Chaponda is a Christian, is married and has children.

See also

References

  1. ↑ http://www.nyasatimes.com/politics/43-member-full-cabinet-list-as-unveiled-by-bingu.html
  2. ↑ 2.0 2.1 "Malawi row over whether new law bans farting". BBC. 4 February 2011. Retrieved 2011-03-02. 
  3. ↑ 3.0 3.1 JOE CHIBEWA (4 FEBRUARY 2011). "Chaponda: Oops I goofed, you can fart!". Marevi Post. Retrieved 2011-03-02. 
Preceded by
Lilian Patel		 Foreign Minister of Malawi
2004-2005 		Succeeded by
Davis Katsonga


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