John Tembo, a very influential person in Malawian politics for over forty years, has passed away in a hospital in the capital city, Lilongwe, at the age of 91, according to his family.
He became a Member of Parliament when he was 27 years old in 1960, just before the country gained independence from the United Kingdom.
He became known as former President Hastings Banda’s closest companion, while Mr Tembo’s niece, Cecelia Kadzamira, was chosen as the government’s official hostess instead of a first lady.
John Zenus Ungapake Tembo was the first person in charge of the money in Malawi after they became independent in 1964. He also worked in different government positions during his career.
He also worked as the head of the central bank and was considered the most important member of the government when Dr. Banda was in power for 30 years.
He is well known by his initials JZU. His biggest role was being part of a group that ruled Malawi for a short time while the president was sick.
After a vote in June 1993, Malawi stopped having only one ruling party. The next year, in a very important election with many parties, Dr Banda and his Malawi Congress Party (MCP) were not chosen to be in charge anymore.
This helped Mr. Tembo become a well-known leader of the opposition party, the MCP. He ran for president in 2004 and 2009, but he didn’t win. Bingu wa Mutharika was the winner both times.
He resigned as the leader of MCP in 2013, and Lazarus Chakwera took his place. Chakwera later became the president in 2020.
Date:
Former Malawian politician John Tembo passes away at age 91
