Clement Terence Chiwaya (16 May 1971 – 30 September 2021) was a

Malawi Malawi, officially the Republic of Malawi, is a landlocked country in Southeastern Africa. It is bordered by Zambia to the west, Tanzania to the north and northeast, and Mozambique to the east, south, and southwest. Malawi spans over and ...

an politician who served as an MP for Mangochi Central from 2004 to 2019. He was also Minister of Social Development and Persons with Disabilities from 2004 through 2005.

Biography

Clement Terence Chiwaya was born on 16 May 1971. His home village was Mpondasi, located in Mponda Traditional Authority (TA) area of

Mangochi District The Mangochi District is a district in Malawi. It is bordered by Mozambique to the east and north Salima to the north. To the west, it is bordered by Dedza. Traveling south, the road climbs up the Machinga escarpment to Zomba, the former colo ...

. At the age of two, Chiwaya contracted

polio Poliomyelitis ( ), commonly shortened to polio, is an infectious disease caused by the poliovirus. Approximately 75% of cases are asymptomatic; mild symptoms which can occur include sore throat and fever; in a proportion of cases more severe ...

and became

paraplegic Paraplegia, or paraparesis, is an impairment in motor or sensory function of the lower extremities. The word comes from Ionic Greek () "half-stricken". It is usually caused by spinal cord injury or a congenital condition that affects the neura ...

. He was raised by the Diocese of Mangochi due to his disability. In the late 1990s, Chiwaya found a

Calvin College Calvin University, formerly Calvin College, is a private Christian university in Grand Rapids, Michigan, United States. Founded in 1876, Calvin University is an educational institution of the Christian Reformed Church and stands in the Reforme ...

advertisement offering scholarships for students from Africa. In 1998, he flew to

Grand Rapids Grand Rapids is the largest city and county seat of Kent County, Michigan, United States. With a population of 198,917 at the 2020 United States census, 2020 census and estimated at 200,117 in 2024, Grand Rapids is the List of municipalities ...

to enter the college, carrying

US$ The United States dollar (Currency symbol, symbol: Dollar sign, $; ISO 4217, currency code: USD) is the official currency of the United States and International use of the U.S. dollar, several other countries. The Coinage Act of 1792 introdu ...

500. When he arrived, Calvin College admissions officers informed him that he would need to go back to Malawi and formally apply for the following year. Chiwaya then sought help from the

Diocese of Grand Rapids The Diocese of Grand Rapids () is a Latin Church diocese of the Roman Catholic Church, Catholic Church in West Michigan, western Michigan in the United States. It comprises 80 parishes in 11 counties. It is a suffragan see to the Archdiocese of De ...

; they arranged for his boarding and enrollment in Aquinas College. He completed his

bachelor's degree A bachelor's degree (from Medieval Latin ''baccalaureus'') or baccalaureate (from Modern Latin ''baccalaureatus'') is an undergraduate degree awarded by colleges and universities upon completion of a course of study lasting three to six years ...

at Aquinas College in 2002, with a

double major Joint degrees are academic qualifications awarded through integrated curricula often jointly coordinated and delivered by multiple higher education institutions, sometimes across different countries. Graduates may receive a single qualification ...

in Community Leadership and Political Science. After returning to Malawi, Chiwaya entered politics as a member of the United Democratic Front (UDF) party. He was elected to the

National Assembly In politics, a national assembly is either a unicameral legislature, the lower house of a bicameral legislature, or both houses of a bicameral legislature together. In the English language it generally means "an assembly composed of the repr ...

from Mangochi Central in the 2004 general election, holding the seat for the UDF. He was appointed the first Minister of Social Development and Persons with Disabilities a week after the election, and continued in this position through 2005. Chiwaya was reelected in

2009 2009 was designated as the International Year of Astronomy by the United Nations to coincide with the 400th anniversary of Galileo Galilei's first known astronomical studies with a telescope and the publication of Astronomia Nova by Joha ...

and became the

Chief Whip The Chief Whip is a political leader whose task is to enforce the whipping system, which aims to ensure that legislators who are members of a political party attend and vote on legislation as the party leadership prescribes. United Kingdom I ...

for the UDF. After winning a third term in

2014 The year 2014 was marked by the surge of the Western African Ebola epidemic, West African Ebola epidemic, which began in 2013, becoming the List of Ebola outbreaks, most widespread outbreak of the Ebola, Ebola virus in human history, resul ...

, he became the Second Deputy Speaker of the National Assembly. In 2018, he decided not to run for another term. At the following election in 2019, his former seat was won by Victoria Kingston of the

Democratic Progressive Party The Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) is a centre to centre-left Taiwanese nationalist political party in Taiwan. As the dominant party in the Pan-Green Coalition, one of the two main political camps in Taiwan, the DPP is currently the ...

. Chiwaya was appointed Minister of Persons with Disability and the Elderly in March 2020, serving until after the

presidential election A presidential election is the election of any head of state whose official title is President. Elections by country Albania The president of Albania is elected by the Assembly of Albania who are elected by the Albanian public. Chile The p ...

in June.

Death

On 30 September 2021, Chiwaya killed himself after not receiving insurance from parliament to pay for damages to his car. His funeral was held in Mangochi Stadium on 2 October 2021, and he was buried in Mpondasi.

Electoral history

References

External links

Fighting stigma and social inequality: Dr. Clement Chiwaya at TEDxGrandRapids
(2014) {{DEFAULTSORT:Chiwaya, Clement 1971 births 2021 deaths 2021 suicides Members of the National Assembly (Malawi) Suicides by firearm in Malawi Politicians who died by suicide United Democratic Front (Malawi) politicians Aquinas College (Michigan) alumni Government ministers of Malawi Politicians with paraplegia Malawian people with disabilities People from Mangochi District Wheelchair users