President Mutharika mourns Mapanje

President Peter Mutharika has mourned the passing of iconic writer, Professor Jack Mapanje, with a call for the public to emulate his patriotic commitment to fighting for a just and prosperous Malawi.

In a condolence message, Mutharika and First Lady Gertrude Mutharika said Professor Mapanje will be remembered not only as a literary voice that educated and entertained the masses, but also as a courageous voice that challenged the status quo at a time when holding authority to account was perilous.

Professor Mapanje was arrested in 1987, during the late Ngwazi Dr. Hastings Kamuzu Banda regime, and detained without trial at Mikuyu Prison in Zomba for reasons known only to the authorities of that time.

Professor Mapanje, who was born on March 25, 1944, was serving as an English lecturer at the University of Malawi at the time of his arrest.

He died yesterday in the United Kingdom after a long illness.