Joyce Banda’s condolences for Mbendera, Malawi pollster chair
Former president Joyce Banda has offered condolences to family of Malawi Electoral Commission (Mec) Chairperson, Maxon Mbendera, who died on Thursday.
Banda sent a message of sympathy to Mbendera, who was a judge of the Malawi Supreme Court of Appeal.
“I and retired Chief Justice Richard Banda wish to offer our condolences to Mrs Mbendera, children and the whole Mbendera and Ndovi families on the untimely death of Justice Mackson Mbendera,” Banda said in a statement.
“ In the 90s Justice Mbendera was one of the lawyers who was our advisors at the National Association of Businesswomen (Nabw). He worked closely with our Executive Secretary of the time, Mrs Flora Kaluwile. After taking oath in 2012 as State President of the Republic of Malawi, I appointed Justice Mbendera as Judge of the Supreme Court. In the same year, I appointed Justice Mbendera as Chairman of the Malawi Electoral Commission.
“ Justice Mbendera was young and could have contributed a lot more to the development of our country. It is for this reason that we condole all the members of staff and all members of the Malawi Electoral Commission. We pray that his soul should rest in everlasting peace,” Banda said.
Mbendera, was appointed judge of the High Court of Malawi by former president the late Bingu wa Mutharika on September 12 2009 and on December 14 2012 former president Joyce Banda promoted him to the Supreme Court and later Banda appointed him chair of MEC in October 2012 to now retired chief justice Anastasia Msosa .
He will be remembered for publicly and uncharacteristically weeping on May 30 2014 as he announced final results of the May 201 2014 Tripartite Elections at the National Tally Centre in Blantyre.
His gesture shocked many Malawians, especially coming against a background of reports of disagreements among MEC commissioners on results
He confessed that he had an emotional attack after realizing that he was about to make a declaration that would spark wild celebrations for the winning party when one family elsewhere was mourning.
Born on November 4, 1958, Mbendera hailed from Kapala Village in the area of Traditional Authority Chakhumbira in Ntcheu and is survived by a wife and four children .
Ine awa sindingawalire apite atsogole tikawapeza. Kupanga chipongwe Mai Banda, and all Malawians of good will in 2014.
DPP even kuti inawinadi za genuine, siinali yoyenera kuipatsa dziko. Nanga siizo. Yawapha/ yawaphetsa iwo a Mbenderawo.
He might have been an intelligent judge. But he lacked foresight and wisdom which means he was just as useless.