Top comedian-turned-politician Micheal Usi has been sworn in as Malawi’s vice-president during a ceremony held in parliament in the capital, Lilongwe.
The 55-year-old succeeds Saulos Chilima, who tragically died in a plane crash earlier this month, along with eight others.
Dr. Usi received a standing ovation after his inauguration speech, expressing a mix of sadness and gratitude as he accepted the role. He pledged to honor his predecessor’s memory and thanked President Lazarus Chakwera for his trust in him to serve as vice-president in the power-sharing government.
His appointment has sparked a divide among Malawians. Some have shared clips from his acting career on social media, questioning his seriousness for such a high office. Others, however, have praised President Chakwera for appointing the deputy from Chilima’s party, thereby respecting the alliance between their parties.
Dr. Usi, known controversially for his acting career, is popularly known as “Manganya,” a mischievous character from the popular TV sitcom Tikuferanji. An aide informed the BBC that he was filming an episode as recently as last week.
With over two decades of presence on national radio and television, Dr. Usi is one of Malawi’s most recognizable celebrities. He has been a passionate advocate for the development and promotion of Malawi’s film industry, which faces significant financial challenges.
Interestingly, he initially funded his acting career by working as a hospital clinician, holding a qualification in clinical medicine—a critical role in a country with a severe shortage of doctors.
Dr. Usi’s commitment to improving poor communities led him to work with the Adventist Development and Relief Agency (Adra), a Christian NGO, for many years. He served in various capacities, including country director, where he oversaw the funding of educational radio and TV soaps addressing HIV and other social issues
The new vice-president, who is married with two daughters, also holds a PhD in youth development from the University of Bedfordshire in the UK.
Despite his position at Adra, his acting career never took a backseat – and he was participating in various productions, mostly in the local Chichewa language.
Such was his popularity as a comedian that when he founded a political movement around seven years ago – many people just thought it was a prank.
This is because he had a reputation as a trickster – his most famous ruse was fooling people into believing that he had been a good boxer at high school and was looking to return to the ring.
He organised a non-title bout against a leading local boxer. A huge crowd turned up for what they thought was a real boxing match, only to discover it was a scene in one of his television plays.
However, it turned out his political ambitions were real. His movement was called Odya zake alibe Mulandu, which loosely translates as “he who does not take what belongs to others but only eats what’s his is a free man”.
It soon became part of a newly formed political party, the UTM, headed by Dr Chilima.
This was ahead of the 2019 elections – and Dr Usi and Dr Chilima started addressing rallies together.
Both being highly eloquent speakers, their meetings often drew huge crowds and in February 2019, Chilima named his new political associate as his running mate for the vote.
The pair came third, but the results were then nullified by the high court because of irregularities.
In fresh elections that were held in 2020, the UTM joined eight other opposition political parties to form an electoral alliance, which picked Dr Chakwera as presidential candidate with Dr Chilima as the running mate, which went on to victory.
Dr Usi, was by this stage Chilima’s deputy and was named in cabinet as minister of tourism, culture and wildlife, a position he held between July 2020 and February 2023.
He later moved to become the minister of natural resources and climate change, his role until his elevation to vice-president.
Some senior members of the UTM were notable by their absence at his inauguration on Friday – signalling division in the party over his appointment.
Dr Usi did not evade the issue at his swearing-in, promising to get the party together so that they could heal and honour the legacy of Chilima, who was regarded as a magnetic politician with a special connection with people, especially the youth.
