Prime comedian-turned-politician Micheal Usi has been sworn as Malawi’s vice-president at a ceremony held in parliament within the capital, Lilongwe.
The 55-year-old replaces Saulos Chilima, who died in a aircraft crash earlier this month, together with eight different folks.
Dr Usi acquired a standing ovation when he spoke after his inauguration, saying he accepted the position with a combination of disappointment and gratitude.
He promised to honour his predecessor’s reminiscence and thanked President Lazarus Chakwera for believing in him as he takes up his place as vice-president within the power-sharing authorities.
His appointment has definitely left Malawians divided.
Some have been sharing clips of his acting career on social media and questioning whether or not he’s critical sufficient to take up such a senior position.
Others nevertheless have praised President Chakwera for appointing Chilima’s occasion deputy and honouring the spirit of the alliance between their two events.
Dr Usi isn’t any stranger to controversy given his performing profession. He’s popularly generally known as “Manganya”, the identify of a mischievous character he nonetheless performs in common TV sitcom Tikuferanji.
His aide informed the BBC on Friday that he was filming an episode as lately as final week.
He has been a staple on nationwide radio and tv for greater than twenty years making him one of the recognisable native celebrities.
Dr Usi has additionally been a passionate advocate for growing and selling Malawi’s movie business during which it’s troublesome to make a dwelling.
In actual fact, he first funded his performing profession by working as a hospital clinician. He has a qualification in medical medication – most sufferers in Malawi will probably be seen by a clinician because the nation has a scarcity of medical doctors.
This fuelled his ardour to enhance the lot of poor communities and for a few years he labored at Adventist Improvement and Reduction Company (Adra), a Christian non-governmental organisation.
He served there in numerous capacities, together with heading the organisation as its nation director – and thru him Adra funded numerous soaps on radio and TV that additionally aimed to teach folks about HIV and different social points.
The brand new vice-president, who’s married with two daughters, additionally holds a PhD in youth growth from the College of Bedfordshire within the UK.
Regardless of his place at Adra, his performing profession by no means took a backseat – and he was taking part in numerous productions, largely within the native Chichewa language.
Such was his reputation as a comic that when he based a political motion round seven years in the past – many individuals simply thought it was a prank.
It’s because he had a popularity as a trickster – his most well-known ruse was fooling folks into believing that he had been a very good boxer at highschool and was seeking to return to the ring.
He organised a non-title bout towards a number one native boxer. An enormous crowd turned up for what they thought was an actual boxing match, solely to find it was a scene in one among his tv performs.
Nonetheless, it turned out his political ambitions have been actual. His motion was referred to as Odya zake alibe Mulandu, which loosely interprets as “he who doesn’t take what belongs to others however solely eats what’s his is a free man”.
It quickly grew to become a part of a newly shaped political occasion, the UTM, headed by Dr Chilima.
This was forward of the 2019 elections – and Dr Usi and Dr Chilima began addressing rallies collectively.
Each being extremely eloquent audio system, their conferences usually drew enormous crowds and in February 2019, Chilima named his new political affiliate as his working mate for the vote.
The pair got here third, however the outcomes have been then nullified by the excessive court docket due to irregularities.
In recent elections that have been held in 2020, the UTM joined eight different opposition political events to kind an electoral alliance, which picked Dr Chakwera as presidential candidate with Dr Chilima because the working mate, which went on to victory.
Dr Usi, was by this stage Chilima’s deputy and was named in cupboard as minister of tourism, tradition and wildlife, a place he held between July 2020 and February 2023.
He later moved to develop into the minister of pure assets and local weather change, his position till his elevation to vice-president.
Some senior members of the UTM have been notable by their absence at his inauguration on Friday – signalling division within the occasion over his appointment.
Dr Usi didn’t evade the problem at his swearing-in, promising to get the occasion collectively in order that they may heal and honour the legacy of Chilima, who was considered a magnetic politician with a particular reference to folks, particularly the youth.
