Richard Banda SC is a

Malawi Malawi (; or aláwi Tumbuka: ''Malaŵi''), officially the Republic of Malawi, is a landlocked country in Southeastern Africa that was formerly known as Nyasaland. It is bordered by Zambia to the west, Tanzania to the north and northeas ...

an barrister and former athlete. He is a judge who formerly served as Chief Justice of Malawi and Eswatini and as

Minister of Justice A justice ministry, ministry of justice, or department of justice is a ministry or other government agency in charge of the administration of justice. The ministry or department is often headed by a minister of justice (minister for justice in a ...

in Malawi. He was

president President most commonly refers to: *President (corporate title) * President (education), a leader of a college or university * President (government title) President may also refer to: Automobiles * Nissan President, a 1966–2010 Japanese ...

of the Commonwealth Magistrates' and Judges' Association and Commonwealth Secretariat Arbitral Tribunal. As a sportsman, Banda was a

track and field Track and field is a sport that includes athletic contests based on running, jumping, and throwing skills. The name is derived from where the sport takes place, a running track and a grass field for the throwing and some of the jumping eve ...

athlete and soccer player. He is the spouse of the former

President of Malawi The president of the Republic of Malawi ( ny, Mtsogoleri wa Dziko la Malawi) is the head of state and head of government of Malawi. The president leads the executive branch of the Government of Malawi and is the commander-in-chief of the Malaw ...

Joyce Banda Joyce Hilda Banda (née Ntila; born 12 April 1950) is a Malawian politician who was the President of Malawi from 7 April 2012 to 31 May 2014. Banda took office as President following the sudden death of President Bingu wa Mutharika. She is the ...

and, as such, was the

First Gentleman First lady is an unofficial title usually used for the wife, and occasionally used for the daughter or other female relative, of a non-monarchical head of state or chief executive. The term is also used to describe a woman seen to be at the t ...

Career

Athletic career

He played soccer for Malawi,Commonwealth Secretariat – Justice Richard Banda
was the captain of the Malawi national team, the Flames, and later was president of the

Football Association of Malawi The Football Association of Malawi (FAM) is the governing body controlling the sport of football in the central African country of Malawi. The Association is affiliated to the Confederation of African Football, FIFA and COSAFA. History The Foot ...

. As a track and field athlete, Banda represented Malawi in the high jump. He later became the president of the Olympic and Commonwealth Games Association of Malawi.

Legal career

Banda was called to the Bar by

Gray's Inn The Honourable Society of Gray's Inn, commonly known as Gray's Inn, is one of the four Inns of Court (professional associations for barristers and judges) in London. To be called to the bar in order to practise as a barrister in England and W ...

in July 1966. He then worked with the Malawi Government Legal Service until 1970. He was appointed the Director of Public Prosecution by the president of Malawi

Kamuzu Banda Hastings Kamuzu Banda (1898 – 25 November 1997) was the prime minister and later president of Malawi from 1964 to 1994 (from 1964 to 1966, Malawi was an independent Dominion / Commonwealth realm). In 1966, the country became a republic and ...

and later served as acting Solicitor General and Secretary for Justice. In April 1972 he was appointed Attorney General and became the first Malawian to be created Senior Counsel. He worked in these two roles until 1974 when he became Minister of Justice and Attorney General and was responsible for the Portfolio of Local Government until his resignation in 1976. In 1980, he re-entered the Judicial Service to fill the newly created office of Chief Resident Magistrate. In November 1980 he was appointed a Judge of the High Court and Supreme Court of Malawi. In 1992 Banda was appointed as the first black Chief Justice of Malawi until 2002. He was the president of the Commonwealth Magistrates' and Judges' Association (CMJA) 2000–2003. He was the Chief Justice of Eswatini. He spoke against corruption and backlogs in the Swaziland Criminal Justice System. Banda was succeeded by Michael Ramodibedi after he retired due to his health.

Honors and awards

*Chairman of African Parks (Majete), 2003–2007 *President, Commonwealth Secretariat Arbitral Tribunal *President, Commonwealth Magistrates' and Judges' Association (CMJA), 2000–2003 *Honorary Life Fellow, Society of Advanced Legal Studies (constituent organization of the

University of London The University of London (UoL; abbreviated as Lond or more rarely Londin in post-nominals) is a federal public research university located in London, England, United Kingdom. The university was established by royal charter in 1836 as a degree ...

) *Honorary Master of the Bench,

Personal life

Banda was born in

Kawambwa Kawambwa is a town in the Zambian province of Luapula located on thedge of the northern Zambian plateau above the Luapula valley at an altitude of 1300 m. It was chosen as an administrative district of the same name by the British colonial author ...

, Northern Rhodesia, near the border with

Nyasaland Nyasaland () was a British protectorate located in Africa that was established in 1907 when the former British Central Africa Protectorate changed its name. Between 1953 and 1963, Nyasaland was part of the Federation of Rhodesia and Nyasala ...

(now Malawi). He is married to Malawi's former President,

. He is brother-in-law to Anjimile Oponyo.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Banda, Richard Chief justices of Malawi Chief justices of Eswatini First Ladies and Gentlemen of Malawi Malawian male high jumpers People from Kawambwa District Living people Malawian judges on the courts of Eswatini Members of Gray's Inn Attorneys-General of Malawi Year of birth missing (living people) 20th-century Malawian judges 21st-century Malawian judges