Anthony Kamanga

Anthony D. Kamanga is a lawyer who has held various senior official positions in Malawi, and as of 6 December 2012 was the Attorney General.

Career

Kamanga earned an LLB (Bachelor of Laws) in Malawi in 1978, an LLM (Master of Laws) in Toronto, Ontario, Canada in 1982 and a Diploma in Legal Drafting in Ottawa, Ontario, Canada in 1993.[1] He was appointed Senior Counsel by the State President in 2004.[2] Kamanga was legal counsel to the Malawi Government for over twenty years. He was responsible for international financial transactions with the World Bank Group, the African Development Bank and other multilateral financial institutions.[2]

Kamanga was appointed Chief Parliamentary Draftsman in the Ministry of Justice, and was appointed a Commissioner when the Privatization Commission was established.[3] He was a member of the Constitutional Review Commission from August 2006 until July 2007, when he was appointed Solicitor General and Principal Secretary for the Ministry of Justice and Constitutional Affairs.[4]

Controversy

In June 2009, Kamanga said that the department of justice was failing to execute its programs due to inadequate office equipment.[5] In December 2010, Kamanga yielded to pressure from George Chaponda, Malawi’s Justice and Constitutional Affairs Minister, to enable Chaponda to use just over MK2 million ($13,000) of government money to travel to Geneva, Switzerland to attend a personal function.[6] In January 2011, a bill was passed giving the government the power to close print media outlets that published material it deems "contrary to the public interest". Kamanga defended the law, saying the Minister of Information must have "reasonable grounds" for such a closure, and that decisions could be challenged in court.[7] He said the amendment was based on the recommendation of the Malawi Law Commission, and "takes into consideration fundamental freedoms as enshrined in the constitution".[8]

Local Courts bill

Kamanga assisted in drafting the Local Courts bill, which would give authority to traditional courts to hear minor, non-criminal cases, and was passed by parliament in February 2011.[9] The bill was controversial. Traditional courts had been tools for political persecution in the past, and were banned by Bakili Muluzi in 1994 after he won the first multi-party elections following independence. Opposition leaders and human rights activists expressed concerns that the chiefs would abuse the authority of the revived traditional courts, and that the Judiciary would lose power. Kamanga defended the law, saying the traditional courts would operate only at the local level, with a jurisdiction limited to small matters.[10]

The Local Courts bill includes a clause that bans fouling the air: "Any person who vitiates the atmosphere in any place so as to make it noxious to the public to the health of persons in general dwelling or carrying on business in the neighbourhood or passing along a public way shall be guilty of a misdemeanour".[11] Speaking on Capital Radio's Straight Talk program, Justice Minister Chaponda said that legislation bans farting in public places and makes it a criminal offense.[12] The story was quickly picked up by the foreign press, particularly the British tabloids.[12] Kamanga contradicted Chaponda, saying the bill referred only to air pollution.[11] Later, Chaponda retracted his remarks, saying he had not read the proposed bill before commenting.[12]

gollark: I dare you to test your ABR patch.
gollark: No.
gollark: I am comprehending it in the optimal way, actually.
gollark: I dislike this.
gollark: Are they complaining about available clothes colors in a deliberately incomprehensible way?

References
  1. "Key Personnel". Ministry of Justice and Constitutional Affairs. Retrieved 2 March 2011.
  2. "SUMMARY OF THE PROCEEDINGS OF THE FIRST NATIONAL CONFERENCE ON THE REVIEW OF THE CONSTITUTION" (PDF). Malawi Law Commission. p. 43. Archived from the original (PDF) on 22 July 2011. Retrieved 2 March 2011.
  3. "Anthony Kamanga". AfDevInfo. Archived from the original on 7 July 2011. Retrieved 2 March 2011.
  4. "REPORT OF THE LAW COMMISSION ON THE REVIEW OF THE CONSTITUTION" (PDF). Malawi Law Commission. August 2007. Archived from the original (PDF) on 22 July 2011. Retrieved 2 March 2011.
  5. "Inadequate equipment affecting Malawi judicial services – Solicitor General". Nyasa Times. 21 June 2009. Archived from the original on 14 July 2011. Retrieved 2 March 2011.
  6. "Malawi justice minister uses public money for private trip". Ntasa Times. 15 December 2010. Archived from the original on 17 February 2011. Retrieved 2 March 2011.
  7. DENIS CALNAN (3 February 2011). "Malawian Media Say New Law a Threat to Democracy". Journalist for Human Rights. Retrieved 2 March 2011.
  8. "Mutharika empowers info minister to ban publications". Marivi Post. 26 January 2011. Retrieved 2 March 2011.
  9. "Parliament passes Local Courts Bill". Nyasa Times. 10 February 2011. Archived from the original on 19 February 2011. Retrieved 2 March 2011.
  10. Bright Sonani (20 January 2011). "Govt to create local courts". The Nation. Retrieved 2 March 2011.
  11. "Malawi row over whether new law bans farting". BBC. 4 February 2011. Archived from the original on 1 March 2011. Retrieved 2 March 2011.
  12. JOE CHIBEWA (4 February 2011). "Chaponda: Oops I goofed, you can fart!". Marevi Post. Archived from the original on 14 July 2011. Retrieved 2011-03-02.
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