Esther Jolobala is a Malawian politician who has served in the Parliament of Malawi since 2014, representing the Machinga East constituency as a member of the United Democratic Front. In 2024, she was the UDF's spokesperson.

Political career

Esther Jolobala was born in the town of

Nayuchi Nayuchi is a town located in Machinga District in Malawi. Serving as a border post for road and rail control between Malawi and Mozambique.Machinga District Machinga is a district in the Southern Region of Malawi. The capital is Machinga. The district covers an area of 3,771 km.² and has a population of 369,614. Demographics At the time of the 2018 Census of Malawi, the distribution of the ...

of Malawi. She was the seventh of eleven children. In the

2014 Malawian general election General elections were held in Malawi on 20 May 2014. They were Malawi's first tripartite elections, the first time the president, National Assembly and local councillors were elected on the same day.Machinga East constituency as an

independent Independent or Independents may refer to: Arts, entertainment, and media Artist groups * Independents (artist group), a group of modernist painters based in Pennsylvania, United States * Independentes (English: Independents), a Portuguese artist ...

in the

National Assembly of Malawi The National Assembly of Malawi is the supreme legislative body of the nation. It is situated on Capital Hill, Lilongwe along Presidential Way. The National Assembly alone possesses legislative supremacy and thereby ultimate power over all other ...

. She is a Christian and her voters are mostly muslim. At some point after her election, Jolobala switched parties to the United Democratic Front, which sat in government due to an

electoral alliance An electoral alliance (also known as a bipartisan electoral agreement, electoral pact, electoral agreement, electoral coalition or electoral bloc) is an association of political parties or individuals that exists solely to stand in elections. E ...

with the ruling

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 ...

. Jolobala was re-elected in the

2019 Malawian general election General elections were held in Malawi on 21 May 2019 to elect the President of Malawi, President, National Assembly (Malawi), National Assembly and local government councillors. Incumbent President Peter Mutharika of the Democratic Progressive P ...

, receiving 23,363 votes; her next closest opponent, Thomas Kenneth Kamu of the DPP, received 6,025 votes. , Jolobala is a member of the Natural Resources and Climate Change Committee and serves as the Shadow Minister of Gender in the opposition. She was previously a member of the Rural and Local Development Committee and the HIV/AIDS and Nutrition Committee, serving as vice chair of the latter. Additionally, Jolobala is a member of the

Malawi Parliamentary Women's Caucus The Malawi Parliamentary Women's Caucus is a cross party group of women who are members of Malawi's National Assembly. It was formed in 1996 when there were nine women members of parliament who wanted to work together across parties whenever the ...

and the Parliamentary Conservation Caucus. In March 2022, she served as one of Malawi's representatives to the 144th assembly of the

Inter-Parliamentary Union The Inter-Parliamentary Union (IPU; , UIP) is an international organization of national parliaments. Its primary purpose is to promote democratic governance, accountability, and cooperation among its members; other initiatives include advancing g ...

. During her tenure in parliament, Jolobala has served an advocate for the improvement of Malawi's infrastructure and roads. In December 2018, Jolobala alleged that the DPP government was prioritizing road projects in DPP constituencies in spite of failing infrastructure in the rest of the country. In 2021, she stated that the Nayuchi-Nsanama road had become so heavily damaged that residents were forced to rely on a twice-a-week train in order to conduct business or to receive healthcare, as even ambulances were unable to traverse the road. Jolobala supported a 2022 emergency power restoration bill which allowed the government to borrow funds from the

International Development Association The International Development Association (IDA) () is a development finance institution which offers concessional loans and grant (money), grants to the world's poorest developing country, developing countries. The IDA is a member of the World ...

in order to repair the Kapichira Hydroelectric Power Station, which had been damaged by Tropical Storm Ana. Later that year, she sided with the

Malawi Congress Party The Malawi Congress Party (MCP) is a political party in Malawi. It was formed as a successor party to the banned Nyasaland African Congress when the country, then known as Nyasaland, was under British rule. The MCP, under Hastings Banda, pre ...

government regarding immigration, stating that an influx of unskilled foreign nationals were taking jobs from Malawian workers. During her tenure, Jolobala has also supported increasing the number of polling places in rural constituencies, and advocated for the removal of a surtax on internet services, stating that the tax makes internet unaffordable for a majority of Malawians. Jolobala is also a prominent opponent of the persecution of albinos. She has decried attacks and kidnappings of albinos, and criticized the

Malawi Police Service The Malawi Police Service is an independent organ of the executive that is mandated by the constitution to protect public safety and the rights of persons in Malawi. The Malawi Police Service is overseen by an Inspector General of Police. Poli ...

for delayed or limited responses to crimes against albinos. In 2016, she introduced a bill which would increase the penalties of crimes against albinos, though the bill was not ultimately drafted by the

Ministry of Justice A justice ministry, ministry of justice, or department of justice, is a ministry or other government agency in charge of the administration of justice. The ministry or department is often headed by a minister of justice (minister for justice in a ...

. On 9 December 2019, during an argument with a Machinga District Commissioner regarding the distribution of water pumps, Jolobala grabbed the commissioner by the necktie and forced him against a wall. Jolobala was arrested and charged with breaching the peace the following day. In 2024, Jolobala was the UDF's spokesperson. Later that year, she gave a speech criticizing President

Lazarus Chakwera Lazarus McCarthy Chakwera (born 5 April 1955) is a Malawian politician and theologian who has served as President of Malawi since June 2020. He has served as the leader of the Malawi Congress Party since 2013. He was president of the Malawi Asse ...

, accusing him of ignoring the rule of law and stating that political interference was undermining Malawi's institutions.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Jolobala, Esther Place of birth missing (living people) Year of birth missing (living people) People from Machinga District United Democratic Front (Malawi) politicians 21st-century Malawian politicians 21st-century Malawian women politicians Members of the National Assembly (Malawi) Delegates to the Inter-Parliamentary Union Assembly Living people