Aleke Kadonaphani Banda (1939 – 9 April 2010) 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 a Member of Parliament, as

Minister of Finance A ministry of finance is a ministry or other government agency in charge of government finance, fiscal policy, and financial regulation. It is headed by a finance minister, an executive or cabinet position . A ministry of finance's portfolio ...

, and as Minister of Agriculture in Malawi. He was also co-founder of 'the Nation Publications Limited'. Banda's life in politics (1953–2008) was devoted intensely to his country as it gained independence from the

United Kingdom The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, commonly known as the United Kingdom (UK) or Britain, is a country in Northwestern Europe, off the coast of European mainland, the continental mainland. It comprises England, Scotlan ...

in 1964, as it established the political and economic structures of an independent state under

Hastings Kamuzu Banda Hastings Kamuzu Banda ( – 25 November 1997) was a Malawian politician and statesman who served as the leader of Malawi from 1964 to 1994. He served as Prime Minister of Malawi, Prime Minister from independence in 1964 to 1966, when Malawi was ...

and as it created the framework of a multiparty democracy under

Bakili Muluzi Elson Bakili Muluzi (born 17 March 1943) is a Malawian politician who was President of Malawi from 1994 to 2004. He was also chairman of the United Democratic Front (UDF) until 2009. He succeeded Hastings Kamuzu Banda as Malawi's president. He al ...

. Banda died from

leukemia Leukemia ( also spelled leukaemia; pronounced ) is a group of blood cancers that usually begin in the bone marrow and produce high numbers of abnormal blood cells. These blood cells are not fully developed and are called ''blasts'' or '' ...

on 9 April 2010.

Early life

Aleke Banda was born in Northern Rhodesia (now

Zambia Zambia, officially the Republic of Zambia, is a landlocked country at the crossroads of Central Africa, Central, Southern Africa, Southern and East Africa. It is typically referred to being in South-Central Africa or Southern Africa. It is bor ...

) and educated in Southern Rhodesia (now

Zimbabwe file:Zimbabwe, relief map.jpg, upright=1.22, Zimbabwe, relief map Zimbabwe, officially the Republic of Zimbabwe, is a landlocked country in Southeast Africa, between the Zambezi and Limpopo Rivers, bordered by South Africa to the south, Bots ...

). His family's home district, however, was

Nkhata Bay Nkhata Bay (or simply Nkhata) is the capital of the Nkhata Bay District in Malawi. It is on the shore of Lake Malawi (formerly Lake Nyasa), east of Mzuzu, and is one of the main ports on Lake Malawi. The population of Nkhata Bay was 14,274 acc ...

, in the northern Region of Malawi. His father worked in

Livingstone, Zambia Livingstone is a city in Southern Province, Zambia, Southern Province, Zambia. Lying 10 km (6 mi) to the north of the Zambezi River, it is a tourism, tourist attraction due to its proximity to the Victoria Falls and its road and rail conn ...

, before moving to Moss Mine near Que Que (Kwekwe) in Southern Rhodesia, where Aleke Banda attended school. He became involved in politics from a young age and was imprisoned. In 1959 on release from prison he entered Malawi for the first time. He is believed to be the first cousin of Zambian politician and former President

Rupiah Banda Rupiah Bwezani Banda (19 February 1937 – 11 March 2022) was a Zambian politician who served as the fourth president of Zambia from 2008 to 2011, taking over from Levy Mwanawasa. Banda was an active participant in politics from early in the pres ...

Career

He was the chairman of The Nation Publications Limited, Malawi's influential private media house that publishes the newspapers '' The Nation, Weekend Nation, Nation on Sunday and FUKO.'' He invited controversial journalist

Ken Lipenga Ken Diston Lipenga (born 14 February 1952) is a Malawian politician, journalist, and writer. He was the Member of Parliament for Phalombe District, Phalombe East from 1997 to 2014. He has served in various ministerial positions. Personal life Ke ...

to be a founder and editor in chief of the newspaper, ''The Nation.'' He was imprisoned under the Banda regime for no charge and this was contested by despite being a co founder of the Malawi Congress Party together with Orton Chirwa

Amnesty International Amnesty International (also referred to as Amnesty or AI) is an international non-governmental organization focused on human rights, with its headquarters in the United Kingdom. The organization says that it has more than ten million members a ...

. In communication no. 63/92 Krishna Achuthan appealed to the commission on behalf of his father-in-law, Aleke Banda. He had been imprisoned for 12 years without legal charge or trial. When Mr. Achuthan met with two successive heads of intelligence of Malawi they confirmed that there no case pending against Mr. Banda, but that he was being held "at the pleasure of the head of state."

Political career

He was

from 1994 to 1997, and Minister of Agriculture from 1997 to 2005. He was also Minister of Health. He was also President of the People's Progressive Movement. Aleke retired from active politics due to his ailment and was hospitalized in

South Africa South Africa, officially the Republic of South Africa (RSA), is the Southern Africa, southernmost country in Africa. Its Provinces of South Africa, nine provinces are bounded to the south by of coastline that stretches along the Atlantic O ...

Film

*Lifecycles: A Story of AIDS in Malawi (Documentary Film) - 2003, Played self Minister of HealthAleke Banda
Internet Movie Database. Retrieved August 2011

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Banda, Aleke 1939 births 2010 deaths Deaths from leukemia Finance ministers of Malawi Government ministers of Malawi Members of the National Assembly (Malawi) People's Progressive Movement (Malawi) politicians Deaths from cancer in Malawi Ministers of agriculture of Malawi