Billy Abner Mayaya
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Billy Abner Mayaya (born August 24, 1964) is 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 human rights activist, artist, poet and
theologian Theology is the study of religious belief from a religious perspective, with a focus on the nature of divinity. It is taught as an academic discipline, typically in universities and seminaries. It occupies itself with the unique content of ...
. Mayaya is particularly noted for his role as the Chairperson of the National Right to Food Network, a loose coalition of about 25
Non-Governmental Organisation A non-governmental organization (NGO) is an independent, typically nonprofit organization that operates outside government control, though it may get a significant percentage of its funding from government or corporate sources. NGOs often focus ...
(NGOs) working in the area of Civil and Political Rights.Khunga, Suzgo. "Malawi Rated Poorly on Social Protection." The Daily Times. The Times Group Publication, 18 Sept. 2010. Web. 30 Oct. 2010. . The coalition is designed to promote Economic, Social and Cultural Rights with a specific focus on the Human
right to food The right to food, and its variations, is a human right protecting the right of people to feed themselves in dignity, implying that sufficient food is available, that people have the means to access it, and that it adequately meets the individua ...
in Malawi. Of particular significance has been the development of a draft Right to Food Bill, with advocacy focused on targeting the Malawi National Assembly, the Ministry of Agriculture, the Malawi Law Commission and the Malawi Human Rights Commission.


Early life and education

Billy Mayaya was born to Abner Lemon Mayaya (August 15, 1932) a former career diplomat and Mirriam Chiwambo (died November 2007 aged 74 years). His father worked for more than 32 years for the government of Dr
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 ...
. Because of his father's diplomat job, Mayaya attended the Sandford English Community School in
Addis Ababa Addis Ababa (; ,) is the capital city of Ethiopia, as well as the regional state of Oromia. With an estimated population of 2,739,551 inhabitants as of the 2007 census, it is the largest city in the country and the List of cities in Africa b ...
, Langley High School in Langley Oaks, Virginia, and
Saint Andrews International High School The St. Andrew's International School in Blantyre, Malawi was founded there in 1938 under British rule by the (Presbyterian) Church of Scotland Mission. The high school in its present form was established in 1958. SAIntS is a British Internatio ...
in
Blantyre, Malawi Blantyre is Malawi's centre of finance and commerce, and its second largest city, with a population of 800,264 . It is sometimes referred to as the commercial and industrial capital of Malawi as opposed to the political capital, Lilongwe. It is ...
. He enrolled for undergraduate studies at the TransAfrica Theological College in
Kitwe Kitwe is the third largest city in terms of infrastructure development (after Lusaka and Ndola) and second largest city in terms of size and population (after Lusaka) in Zambia. With a population of 517,543 (''2010 census provisional'') Kitwe is ...
,
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 ...
, a Bachelor of Arts from the
University of Malawi The University of Malawi (UNIMA) is a public university A public university, state university, or public college is a university or college that is State ownership, owned by the state or receives significant funding from a government. Whethe ...
Chancellor College, received a
Master of Science A Master of Science (; abbreviated MS, M.S., MSc, M.Sc., SM, S.M., ScM or Sc.M.) is a master's degree. In contrast to the Master of Arts degree, the Master of Science degree is typically granted for studies in sciences, engineering and medici ...
in
Strategic Management In the field of management, strategic management involves the formulation and implementation of the major goals and initiatives taken by an organization's managers on behalf of stakeholders, based on consideration of Resource management, resources ...
from the
University of Derby The University of Derby, formerly known as Derby College, is a public university in the city of Derby, England. It traces its history back to the establishment of the Derby Diocesan Institution for the training of schoolmistresses in 1851. It ...
, as well as a
Master of Business Administration A Master of Business Administration (MBA) is a professional degree focused on business administration. The core courses in an MBA program cover various areas of business administration; elective courses may allow further study in a particular ...
from the
University of Malawi The University of Malawi (UNIMA) is a public university A public university, state university, or public college is a university or college that is State ownership, owned by the state or receives significant funding from a government. Whethe ...
, the Polytechnic. He is currently enrolled as a
PhD A Doctor of Philosophy (PhD, DPhil; or ) is a terminal degree that usually denotes the highest level of academic achievement in a given discipline and is awarded following a course of graduate study and original research. The name of the deg ...
Student at the
Mzuzu University Mzuzu University is a public university in Malawi. The university is located in Luwinga, Mzuzu, Luwinga, Mzuzu, Mzuzu City, in the northern region of Malawi. It was founded in 1997 after being transformed from a teachers training college establi ...
in Northern Malawi.


Controversy

He began work as a teacher in Malawian private secondary schools teaching English, French and History. He came to prominence when he was recruited as a Programme Facilitator for
Church Church may refer to: Religion * Church (building), a place/building for Christian religious activities and praying * Church (congregation), a local congregation of a Christian denomination * Church service, a formalized period of Christian comm ...
and
Society A society () is a group of individuals involved in persistent social interaction or a large social group sharing the same spatial or social territory, typically subject to the same political authority and dominant cultural expectations. ...
, the
Human Rights Human rights are universally recognized Morality, moral principles or Social norm, norms that establish standards of human behavior and are often protected by both Municipal law, national and international laws. These rights are considered ...
and
Advocacy Advocacy is an Action (philosophy), activity by an individual or advocacy group, group that aims to influence decision making, decisions within political, economic, and social institutions. Advocacy includes activities and publications to infl ...
department of the Church of Central African Presbyterian, the second largest denomination in Malawi after the Catholic Church. In 2002, together with a colleague Robson Chitengo, he called for the
impeachment Impeachment is a process by which a legislative body or other legally constituted tribunal initiates charges against a public official for misconduct. It may be understood as a unique process involving both political and legal elements. In Eur ...
of the then State President of Malawi,
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 ...
after rumors that he was planning for an unconstitutional third term. In 2004, after the election of Muluzi's handpicked successor,
Bingu wa Mutharika Bingu wa Mutharika (; born Brightson Webster Ryson Thom; 24 February 1934 – 5 April 2012) was a Malawian politician and economist who was President of Malawi from May 2004 until his death in April 2012. He was also President of the Democ ...
, a press statement was released by Church and Society signed by Mayaya and Chitengo calling for the impeachment of the newly elected President after it emerged unofficially that Mutharika was planning to dump the party that endorsed as its candidate and form his own party, 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 ...
with backing from Taiwan. Church officials were displeased with the press release and publicly disassociated themselves from it. Mayaya and Chitengo were summoned to a disciplinary hearing with threats that their jobs were on the line. Mayaya publicly apologised for the blunder, whereas Chitengo resigned with intentions to run as a Parliamentary candidate in by-elections. In 2011, he was the official spokesperson of the July 20 Demonstrations against the government of former President
Bingu wa Mutharika Bingu wa Mutharika (; born Brightson Webster Ryson Thom; 24 February 1934 – 5 April 2012) was a Malawian politician and economist who was President of Malawi from May 2004 until his death in April 2012. He was also President of the Democ ...
. The same year, he organised a demonstration against the presence of Sudanese dictator Omar al Bashir during the
COMESA The Common Market for Eastern and Southern Africa (COMESA) is a regional economic community in Africa with twenty-one member states stretching from Tunisia to Eswatini. COMESA was formed in December 1994, replacing a Preferential Trade Area whi ...
summit. He was subsequently arrested and charged with sedition together with lawyer Habiba Osman, Ben Chiza Mkandawire, Brian Nyasulu and Comfort Chitseko. They spent six days in custody. The case was eventually discharged in 2011. Through their lawyers, Wapona Kita and Ralph Kasambara the group sued government for compensation. The government compensated the group in 2014 Organising Demonstrations As an activist, he is renowned for organising demonstrations. In 2014, he led a protest against Xenophobic attacks on Malawians in South Africa. A petition was delivered to the South African High Commissioner in Lilongwe. In the same year he organised another protest against the sale of the Malawi Savings Bank. In 2016 together with the Member of Parliament Bon Kalindo he organised "Naked" protests against the ritual murders of People with Albinism.


References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Mayaya, Billy Abner 1964 births Living people Alumni of the University of Derby Malawian human rights activists University of Malawi alumni Alumni of Saint Andrews International High School