Tujilane Chizumila

Tujilane Rose Chizumila (born 14 May 1953) is a Malawian lawyer and jurist who was appointed to the African Court on Human and Peoples' Rights for a six-year term in 2017.

Early life and education

Chizumila was born on 14 May 1953 in Zomba, Malawi.[1][2] Her father, George Michongwe, was a senior civil servant who was assigned to the Malawi Delegation at the United Nations in New York in 1964. After the Cabinet Crisis of 1964 in Malawi, the family fled into exile in 1966, settling as refugees in Tanzania.[3] She has a bachelor's degree in law from the University of Dar es Salaam,[1] and a master's degree in International Law, obtained in Germany.[4][5]

Career

Chizumila and her two sons returned to Malawi in 1988, where she worked for Save the Children for eighteen months while waiting for a security clearance because she was the child of a "rebel."[1] She was then directed by Hastings Banda to report to the Minister of Justice as a State Advocate.[6] She was later the first woman to establish a law firm in Malawi.[7]

In 2000, Chizumila was appointed as Malawi's High Commissioner to Zimbabwe.[4] She was appointed as a judge of the High Court of Malawi in 2003 by President Bakili Muluzi.[8] Her publication, "A widow's perspective - a personal experience" led to the enactment of a law making property grabbing an offence in Malawi.[4]

Chizumila was Malawi's first female ombudsman, serving from 2010 until 2015.[4][9] In 2012, she was accused of nepotism and was later arrested and interrogated in Lilongwe on suspicion of abuse of her office.[10][11] She refused to resign when no evidence could be produced against her.[12] In April 2013, five armed men raided her house in Lilongwe, stealing property and threatening her and her children.[11][13]

Chizumila was elected to the African Court at the African Union meeting in Addis Ababa in January 2017,[14][15] alongside Algerian Bensaoula Chafika. The two were sworn in on 6 March, bringing the number of women on the court to five of eleven judges for the first time[16] and fulfilling the gender parity requirement of the Protocol establishing the court.[17]

Publications
  • Chanda, Cosmas; Chizumila, Tujilane (30 November 1992). "Promotion of Refugee Women Participation in Leadership Roles and the Management of Relief Items in Nyamithuthu Refugee Settlement". Lilongwe: UNHCR. Cite journal requires |journal= (help)
  • Chizumila, Tujilane. "A widow's perspective - a personal experience". Cite journal requires |journal= (help)
  • Chizumila, Tujilane (2012). "Rule of Law in Malawi: The Road to Recovery". International Bar Association. Cite journal requires |journal= (help)

Personal life

Chizumila married in Tanzania and has two sons and a daughter.[18] She divorced her husband for infidelity.[1] In Malawi, she married Collins Chizumila, a pro-democracy advocate and founding member of the United Democratic Front[19] who had served as Malawian Minister of Justice and Attorney General, in 1992.[1] He died in 1996 and within three weeks she lost all property including her house which was sold by her stepson.[20] Chizumila speaks English, German, Chichewa] English and [Swahili language|Swahili.[4]

References
  1. Mpaso, Paida (24 October 2010). "Rising to the occasion". The Nation Online. Retrieved 23 September 2017.
  2. Mwakasungura, Kapote; Miller, Douglas (10 August 2016). Malawi's Lost Years (1964-1994). Mzuni Press. p. 130.
  3. Mwakasungura, Kapote; Miller, Douglas (10 August 2016). Malawi's Lost Years (1964-1994). Mzuni Press. p. 231.
  4. "Current Judges". African Court on Human and Peoples' Rights.
  5. Mwakasungura, Kapote; Miller, Douglas (10 August 2016). Malawi's Lost Years (1964-1994). Mzuni Press. p. 175.
  6. Mwakasungura, Kapote; Miller, Douglas (10 August 2016). Malawi's Lost Years (1964-1994). Mzuni Press. p. 175.
  7. "First Woman Ombudsman Appointed in Malawi". African Ombudsman Today. 1: 2. December 2010.
  8. "New Malawi judges are 'ethnically biased'". IOL. 19 March 2003. Retrieved 23 September 2017.
  9. Namadzunda, Chancy (5 July 2015). "Ombudsman absence affecting justice delivery in Malawi: Chizumila's term expires". Nyasa Times. Retrieved 23 September 2017.
  10. "Malawi Ombudsman arrested on theft charges: Freed on bail". Nyasa Times. 12 October 2012. Retrieved 23 September 2017.
  11. "Armed robbers ransack Malawi Ombudsman's residence". Nyasa Times. 23 April 2013. Retrieved 23 September 2017.
  12. "Repositioning the Ombudsman: Challenges and Prospects for African Ombudsman Institutions". The Commission on Administrative Justice. 19 September 2013. Retrieved 23 September 2017.
  13. "Malawi Ombudsman's armed robber on trial". Nyasa Times. 25 June 2013. Retrieved 23 September 2017.
  14. "Malawi Shines Again In Addis Ababa: Justice Tujilane Rose Chizumila Elected Judge of the African Court on Human and People's Rights…Outclasses South Africa's Maluleke Mikateko". Malawi Voice. 26 January 2017. Retrieved 23 September 2017.
  15. Malenga, Bright (26 January 2017). "Malawian elected African court judge on Human and Peoples Rights". Malawi 24. Retrieved 23 September 2017.
  16. "African Women Judges and Gender Parity on the African Court on Human and Peoples' Rights". GQUAL. 6 February 2017. Retrieved 23 September 2017.
  17. "Two new female judges sworn-in at the African Court on Human and People Rights". Kenyan Woman. 10 March 2017. Retrieved 23 September 2017.
  18. Mwakasungura, Kapote; Miller, Douglas (10 August 2016). Malawi's Lost Years (1964-1994). Mzuni Press. p. 231.
  19. Kalinga, Owen J. M. (2012). Historical Dictionary of Malawi. Rowman & Littlefield. p. 120.
  20. Mapimhidze, Ropafadzo (7 October 2003). "Women must fight discrimination". Africa Speaks. Retrieved 23 September 2017.
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