Media & Journalism
Landmark
Aleke Banda
1939 – 2010
Nationalist, founder of the Malawi News, and a prisoner of the leader he helped install
Landmark is level 2 of 4 in the Malawi Hall of Fame: a first that opened a door, or the pre-eminent figure of their generation in this country. See how the levels work.
Why they are here
He was organising for independence as a teenager, founded and edited the Malawi News, served as a minister, and then spent twelve years in detention without trial under Hastings Banda. He came back to help build the opposition that removed him.
Aleke Banda was still a teenager when he became secretary general of the Nyasaland African Congress youth wing, and in his early twenties he founded the Malawi News, which became the movement's voice and remains one of the country's main papers.
He held senior cabinet posts after independence. In 1980 Hastings Banda had him detained; he was held without charge or trial for twelve years, much of it in solitary confinement, and released only in 1992 as the one-party state began to give way. He returned to politics immediately, helped found the United Democratic Front and served again as a minister in the democratic era. He died in 2010.
He held senior cabinet posts after independence. In 1980 Hastings Banda had him detained; he was held without charge or trial for twelve years, much of it in solitary confinement, and released only in 1992 as the one-party state began to give way. He returned to politics immediately, helped found the United Democratic Front and served again as a minister in the democratic era. He died in 2010.
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