Commissioners
WHO WE ARE
- By MHRC, 07 July 2020
Scader Louis
Commissioner
Commissioner Louis is a disability rights advocate and through her advocacy work, she has actively been involved in: developing disability inclusive policies; collaborating with policymakers and legislators to ensure that disability rights are effectively integrated; and lobbying for meaningful inclusion of persons with disabilities through constant engagements with authorities and communities. She is the former Chairperson of the Malawi Human Rights Commission (MHRC) and was recently reappointed as Commissioner for the 8th cohort of MHRC.
Commissioner Louis serves as a committee member on the Policy and Programs Committee (PPC) of the National Planning Commission (NPC). She is a co-founder of the Spinal Injuries Association of Malawi (SIAM) and Deputy Chairperson of the Federation of Disability Organizations in Malawi (FEDOMA) and treasurer general of the Commonwealth Disabled Peoples Forum (CDPF). She is a 2023/24 Fellow at the Centre for Inclusive Policy (CIP), where she is analysing financing and expenditure patterns of social protection programs and the risks associated with excessive reliance on donor funding in Malawi. Commissioner Louis also serves as a consultant for Mobility International USA, focusing on gender, disability, inclusion, and access. She is a member of the Ethics and Investigations Committee of the Institute of Chartered Certified Accountants in Malawi (ICAM) and sits on various boards including the Lilongwe Institute of Orthopaedic and Neurosurgeon (LION), where she serves as board chair.
Commissioner Louis is a Fellow of the Association of Chartered Certified Accountants (ACCA) and has over 10-year progressive experience in financial management. She currently serves as Risk and Compliance Manager for World Vision Malawi.
WHO WE ARE
- By MHRC, 03 July 2020
GRACE MALERA
Commissioner
Commissioner Malera is a Lawyer and Human Rights and Gender Expert, with 21 years of work experience in governance, human rights and gender in both the public and civil society sectors in Malawi. She is currently the Ombudsman of the Republic of Malawi. She previously held the positions of: Team Leader of UK aid’s Malawi Programme on Violence Against Women and Girls: Prevention and Response; Executive Director, Action Aid Malawi; Executive Secretary of the Malawi Human Rights Commission; Director of Legal Services and Deputy Director of Legal Services in the same institution.
Commissioner Malera is also a socio-legal researcher and an exceptional human rights and gender equality advocate. She’s an architect of some Malawi NGOs working on governance issues as well as on the advancement of women’s rights. She serves in a number of Boards of human rights NGOs in Malawi.
Commissioner Malera is passionate about using the law as a tool for social change and attainment of social justice and gender equality. She is deeply committed to the work on reducing the prevalence of violence against women and girls in Malawi and improving the justice system for women and girls living with violence in Malawi.
Commissioner Malera holds a Bachelor of Law Degree (LLB Honours), obtained from the University of Malawi, Chancellor College in 2002, and graduated from the University of the Free State, Republic of South Africa with a Masters in Law Degree (LLM) in 2007.
WHO WE ARE
- By MHRC, 03 July 2020
Chikondi Chijozi
Chairperson
Commissioner Chijozi is a passionate human rights lawyer with 17 years’ experience in human rights work. She has been a human rights activist since 2004 when she joined Centre for Human Rights Education Advice and Assistance (CHREAA) as a paralegal officer. She rose up the ladder in the organisation and became the Deputy Executive Director and Litigation Manager. She is a strong advocate for rights of marginalised groups including women, children, sex workers, LGBTIQ and prisoners. She has been involved in strategic litigation challenging laws that oppress the marginalised groups.
The notable cases that she has been involved in, include, the laws on rogue and vagabond, laws that target and criminalise sex workers, challenging the policy that prevent Rastafari children from being enrolled and admitted into government schools and protecting children from unlawful and arbitrary arrests and detentions. Commissioner Chijozi holds a Master of Laws (International Human Rights Law) from University of Sussex in the United Kingdom and a Bachelor of Laws (Hons) from the University of Malawi, Chancellor College. She is currently working for the Southern Africa Litigation Centre (SALC) and she heads the Criminal Justice Program.
Commissioner Chijozi is also a board member of IPAS Malawi, Youth and Society (YAS). In 2006 she was awarded at the first African Young Women Summit for outstanding work in human rights. She is also an active member of the Women Lawyers Association in Malawi. In 2020 she was awarded by the Women Lawyers Association as the best female lawyer in NGO sector. She is a member of the Malawi Law Society and serves as a member of the Public Interest Litigation Committee. She also has published some articles and research work on various human rights issues.
WHO WE ARE
- By MHRC, 03 July 2020
ANDREW KAVALA
Commissioner
Commissioner Kavala is the Executive Director for MANEPO-a consortium of Civil Society Organizations (CSOs) whose aim is to help older men and women claim their rights, challenge discrimination, and overcome poverty. MANEPO ensures that older men and women enjoy an environment that guarantees a dignified living regardless of age.
Commissioner Kavala is one of the Board of Directors for Global Ageing Network (GAN) and Commonwealth Association for the Ageing. He also sits on the global steering committee for Global Alliance for the Rights of Older Persons (GAROP)
Commissioner Kavala born in Malawi, graduated from the University of Malawi with a Bachelor of Arts Humanities. He later earned his Master of Business Administration (MBA) at the Malawi University of Business and Applied Sciences (MUBAS). Commissioner Kavala is currently studying for a PhD in Social Sciences with Ageing and Development at North-West University (NWU)-a public University in South Africa.
WHO WE ARE
- By MHRC, 03 July 2020
VIWEMI CHAVULA
Commissioner
Commissioner Chavula is a human rights and social development advocate with applied interests in political empowerment of women, election observation, resource mobilization, decentralization and local governance among others. A teacher by profession, he holds a master’s degree in development studies from University of Free State (South Africa). He also holds a postgraduate diploma in monitoring and evaluation from Stellenbosch University (South Africa).
Commissioner Chavula currently serves as a Team Leader for the Centre for Civil Society Strengthening (www.ccssmalawi.org). He has held several management and advisory roles across various local and international organizations, including National Democratic Institute, International Republican Institute, Catholic Relief Services, GIZ, AHT, UN Women, UNDP, UN Spotlight initiative, Ministries of local government and Gender, Parliamentary Women Caucus and Civil society in Malawi. He is a former board member of NICE (2019-2022) where he also chaired the resource mobilization subcommittee of the board.
In Liberia, Commissioner Chavula both worked as a short-term election observer (2011) and long-term election observer (2005). In 2023, he has observed the Mauritanian and Sierra Leone elections. He is also member of the AU Civil Society Working Group on Women, Peace and Security (CSWG-WPS). The grouping houses 15 CSOs across Africa promoting women, peace and security issues from the CSO lens. Commissioner Chavula is a member of Spotlight Malawi Civil Society National Reference Group where he serves as its Vice Chairperson (2021-Present).
WHO WE ARE
- By MHRC, 03 July 2020
MR. BONIFACE MASSAH
Commissioner
Commissioner Massah holds a Master’s degree (MPhil) in Rehabilitation, Disability studies and Development from University of Stellenbosch, South Africa and his second master’s (MPhil) degree in Human Right and Disability Rights at the University of Pretoria, South Africa and a Bachelor’s Degree in Agronomy from University of Malawi.
He is the current Country Director for Standing Voice - Malawi office. He previously led the Association of Persons with Albinism in Malawi (APAM) in the capacity of President and National Coordinator from 2009-2016. He has also served on the Board of Directors for Malawi Network Against Trafficking in Persons (M-NAT), Disabled Women in Africa (DIWA) and Small and Medium Enterprises Development Institute.
His knowledge and expertise on disability rights has earned him several awards. Among other awards, Commissioner Massah is the inaugural winner of the BARI-BARI PRIZE (2015-2025) and the first person with albinism in Africa to be honoured as an albinism champion for his advocacy work; the Community Engagement Exchange Specialist Mentor Program (2021); ESTHER Ireland Unsung Hero Award (2021); Mandela Washington Young African Leaders Initiative Fellow, (2018); Henry Viscardi Achievement Award and Certificate of Excellence for Extra-ordinary services to victims of trafficking in Persons (2019).
Commissioner Massah is also a social worker, motivational speaker and human rights defender with over 15 years of experience in disability, human rights, and development work within Africa and beyond. He is also a resourceful person with a robust national, regional and international network and connections.
WHO WE ARE
- By MHRC, 03 July 2020
Ms. ROSEMARY KUMITSONYO KANYUKA
Commissioner
Commissioner Kanyuka is a seasoned Legal Practitioner and Corporate Lawyer of about 30 years of experience in both private practice and the public sector. Commissioner Kanyuka holds a Bachelor of Laws (Honors) Degree from University of Malawi, Chancellor College. She has vast experience in advising corporate clients, including drafting of legal instruments. She has also sat on a number of boards, such as the Reserve Bank of Malawi, First Merchant Bank, Continental Discount House, Securicor Malawi Limited and Vanguard Insurance.
Commissioner Kanyuka has vast experience in company secretarial work, including drafting of legal instruments, including incorporation of companies such as Continental Discount House, Nascomex Ltd, Malawi Environmental Endowment Trust, Commodity Exchange Ltd, among others. Commissioner Kanyuka – a former diplomat having served as Malawi’s Deputy Ambassador to Japan between 2012 and 2017 – rejoined the Malawi Public Service, Ministry of Justice and Constitutional Affairs and rose to the position of Director of Public Prosecution (DPP in 2010– in the process becoming the first female DPP in the history of Malawi).
A Commonwealth fellow, she has also previously served as an Executive member of the Malawi Law Society’s Board of Executives. Commissioner Kanyuka is a Managing Partner of Messrs. Lilley, Wills &Company Legal Firm. She currently holds the position of Law Commissioner of Malawi.
WHO WE ARE
- By MHRC, 03 July 2020
TERESA TEMWEKA CHIRWA-NDANGA
Commissioner
Commissioner Chirwa-Ndanga is an award-winning journalist and media leader. She is Regional Communications Specialist at the Global Water Partnership Southern Africa (GWPSA). She was chairperson of the Media Institute of Southern Africa, MISA Malawi from 2017 to 2023.
She holds a Master’s Degree in Public Administration from Harvard University in the United States and a certificate in Public Policy obtained alongside her MA. She also holds a Bachelor’s Degree in Journalism from the Malawi Polytechnic.
As a journalist, Commissioner Chirwa-Ndanga has written widely on human rights using the investigative journalism approach. She has written on human rights, publishing with both local and international media including Zodiak, CNN and CNBC. From 2012 to 2018 she headed the newsroom at Zodiak Broadcasting Station as Director of News and Current Affairs.
She has won numerous awards including the 2010 African journalist of the year winner of the CNN-Multichoice Health and Medical Award, 2013 Overall Winner of the Media Institute of Southern Africa, Malawi Chapter. In 2015, she was listed among the top 10 women to watch in the media sector in Southern Africa by the Media Institute of Southern Africa’s regional office. In 2012, she was awarded the Journalism for Human Rights Fisher Fellowship through Massey College of the University of Toronto in Canada; an award that is given to only one African journalist annually.
Commissioner Chirwa-Ndanga also worked as Public Relations Manager of the Malawi-based AHL Group from 2018 to 2022 and currently runs her own communications consultancy firm which has seen her work with international organizations including the United Nations. She is also a member of the General Assembly of Action Aid Malawi, a Board Member of Spark Microgrants Malawi and Chairperson of the Board of Trustees for the Association of Women in Media in Malawi.
WHO WE ARE
- By MHRC, 03 July 2020
DR. SUNDUZWAYO MADISE
Commissioner
Commissioner Dr. Madise holds a Doctor of Philosophy in Law degree and a Post-Graduate Diploma in Teaching and Learning in Higher Education from the from University of Warwick, a Master of Laws degree (cum laude) in International Trade and Investment Law from the University of the Western Cape, a Bachelor of Laws (Honours) degree and Bachelor of Science degree from the University of Malawi. His area of specialisation is Financial Services Regulation.
He is currently the Deputy Vice Chancellor of the University of Malawi. He has previously served as President of ESCOM Workers Union, President of Malawi Congress of Trade Unions, President of Chancellor College Academic Staff Union, and Board Member of the Human Rights Consultative Committee. In the period 1995 to 2000, he was an active organiser of many trade unions in the workplace. Commissioner Dr. Madise also served as Counsellor of the Labour Resources Centre. His passion is in Labour Rights, Economic Rights, Social Rights and Gender Equality. He is a strong advocate for affirmative action to achieve gender parity. Commissioner Dr. Madise has been admitted to the Malawi Bar and is faculty at the University of Malawi where he teaches law.
Commissioner Dr. Madise has been involved in sports administration for almost 3 decades. He was the founding President of the Super League of Malawi and served as Chairman of two super league teams, ESCOM Football Club and Bata/Big Bullets Football Club. He is currently the Chairperson of the Malawi National Council of Sports, where he is serving his second term. Commissioner Dr. Madise is serving his second term as Commissioner of Malawi Human Rights Commission.