Compiled by Simon Manda
We recently received devastating news on the passing of the Southern Africa Federation of the Disabled (SAFOD)Director General, Mussa Albert Chiwaula on October 8th in Gaborone, Botswana, following a brief illness.
Chiwaula was a researcher, leader, friend, father, and mentor,who left a significant impact on many. Our news team calls for prayers and support for the Chiwaula family during this difficult time.
Having visited the family to pay tribute in Gaborone, Botswana, it was very apparent the mark that Mr Chiwaula left on his family, colleagues and all that knew him. Mr Chiwaula passed peacefully at his Botswana home in Gaborone.
We hereby republish eulogies from different people who were greatly impacted by Mr Chiwaula’s legacy.
Reflections
Reputation Matters-An Inclusive Malawi is Possible
A tribute written by Mr. Lewis Msasa from Malawi Times (06/06/2024)
Today, I would like to celebrate Mussa Chiwaula, a patriotic Malawian and renowned disbility campaigner. He is a rare gem and humble gentleman who continues to dedicate his life to the cause of fighting for the rights of persons with disabilities.
My earlier interaction with Chiwaula was during the formative years career, a couple of decades and half ago. As a young man who was in the process of curving out a niche in communications and public relations, I learnt a lot from him. That time, I was working at Malawi Council for the Handicapped (Macoha), now called Malawi Council for Disability Affairs.
One day, he invited me to accompany him to Gaborone, Botswana, for a weeklong international conference on disability. Little did I know that this development was going to be a turning point in my career. The trip accorded me an opportunity to get a global perspective on how to handle communications related to disability issues. Apparently, this was my first time to travel outside Malawi. In a plane for that matter!
Chiwaula was that time Executive Director for the Federation of Disability Organisations in Malawi (Fedoma), an organisation he helped found and served for over 14 years. Chiwaula now heads Southern Africa Federation of the Disabled (Safod), a leading ‘Southern African disability-focused network engaged in the coordination of activities of organisations for disabled persons in the Southern African Development Community (Sada) region. As director general, Chiwaula heads the Gaborone-based Safod secretariat, overseeing 10 Sada countries including Malawi, Mozambique, Zambia, Zimbabwe, South Africa, Lesotho, Botswana, eSwatini, Angola and Namibia.
Over the years, Chiwaula has undertaken a wide range of disability-related research activities while championing disability issues across the Sada region and beyond.
Despite all this, one would expect Chiwaula to be bragging about the high-profile post he holds. Probably, he knows that doing so would be a futile effort, especially in a society which has a penchant for looking down upon the achievements of persons with disabilities.
Years ago, in one of our rare interactions, Chiwaula shared a moving story about an athlete with disability who went abroad to compete in Paralympic Games. No one gave him a chance of even reaching the quarter finals. But this determined athlete made it up to the finals. He got a gold medal for his stellar performance. Local newspapers in the country where the Paralympic Games were held reported extensively about the exploits of this Malawian.
On the eve of departure, the athlete imagined the heroic welcome he was going to be accorded back home. He rehearsed on how he was going to conduct himself on arrival, possible questions that sports journalists were going to ask him and the type of response he was going to give. He was over the moon.
He arrived at the airport on a Saturday afternoon. The athlete disembarked the plane, flashing his gold medal while excitedly waving at the imaginary crowd at a distance. To his dismay, he was only welcomed by a handful of his relations. He was not accorded the heroic welcome he expected.
After narrating the story, Chawaula posed for a while, probably to gauge my reaction. In his usual calmness and baritone voice, he told me that one would have expected this athlete to be accorded a hero’s welcome. But his success story was hugely diminished by his disability, Chiwaula told me.
Mr Chiwaula’s story may sound fictitious but it is a harsh reminder about how we, as a society, tend to downplay each other’s efforts, especially those of persons with disabilities in various spheres of society. We rarely laud each other.
On a number of occasions, the Malawi leader Lazarus McCarthy Chakwera, has even lamented this attitude, asking Malawians to be lauding one another. Instead, we oftentimes focus on negativity. But psychologists contend that motivation is one of the driving forces behind human behaviour. We all want to be praised when we do something commendable. Compliments— be it in a family, group or at the workplace— help to motivate people, enhance one’s self- confidence and self-esteem as well as improve communication and relationships. For people with disabilities, compliments promote social inclusion.
While we continue to celebrate Malawians who have helped in boosting the image of the country through their exploits both within and abroad, let us also celebrate the success stories of people with disabilities.
On the other hand, we, as a society, should also strive to remove barriers— be they physical or psychological— which deter most people with disabilities from excelling in various spheres of life.
Above all, let us promote social dialogue among ourselves to avoid situations where other sections of the society might feel sidelined or discriminated against. Those in authority should strive to promote and embrace inclusive policies to fend off elements of favouritism, bias and nepotism
When all is said and done, it has to be reckoned that a country’s reputation is, among other factors, enhanced depending on how inclusive its policies are when it comes to rewarding or recognizing the efforts of its people.
Source: Times News, Malawi
George Mwika Kayange
PHD Candidate(Loughborough University, London) and former Project Manager at SAFOD
Today, I mourn the death and celebrate the life of one of the renowned gallant fighters for disability rights in Southern Africa. And I have my own personal story to tell about this warrior.
In 2012, Mussa Chiwaula and I jointly wrote a column in one of Malawi’s leading newspapers, The Malawi News. The weekly column was called “(Dis)Ability Focus.” It ran on Saturdays for one year to raise awareness about the draft Disability Bill and other disability-related issues. But that was after Mussa and I had known each other and worked on several disability-related projects together for over ten years. He worked with me in his capacity as the founding Director of fedoma, and in my capacity mainly as a media and project consultant.
When we were not brainstorming about the next article for the column, we would be reflecting on how we could take this advocacy to the regional level at the SADC. We reckoned that most issues we grappled with in Malawi were the same across the SADC region. Yet, there needed to be civil society-driven interventions worth pointing at to address some of the challenges. We needed to strengthen a regional movement championed mainly by people with disabilities themselves.
Mussa believed and insisted that we were capable of unleashing the magic wand that would ultimately help us solve some of those issues, even if it were just a paltry one-thousandth of the problems. A quarter of bread would still be better than none.
At first, it seemed like wishful thinking. But the more we brainstormed ideas, the more he reassured me that this was possible. He was such a bullish optimist. One of the traits I learned from working with him for many years.
Just over a year later, when Mussa assumed the Director General role at the Southern Africa Federation of the Disabled – SAFOD, he entrusted me with transforming our brainstormed ideas into a comprehensive regional strategy document. I accepted the challenge.
This five-year blueprint was designed to steer the disability mainstreaming efforts within ten countries in the region, with a clear vision to expand our footprints to all 16 SADC countries in the subsequent five years. As the Director of Programmes, I also led a dedicated team at our Secretariat in Gaborone to mobilise resources to bring the Strategic Plan to life and coordinate all programmes under Mussa’s stewardship.
One of the many projects we implemented focused on empowering artists and craftspeople with disabilities in Southern Africa, which we jointly implemented with Loughborough University London. In 2018, we visited the university campus with some of the craftspeople we worked with within Southern Africa. They showcased their products/artefacts and learned a lot from the experiences of their UK counterparts.
As time passed, we found ourselves filled with a sense of accomplishment, seeing the tangible progress we had made in pursuing our mission and the significant impact we had on the lives of hundreds of people with disabilities in most countries we worked in. What had once seemed wishful thinking had become a powerful manifestation of our collective efforts.
Interestingly, our success only fueled the motivation to explore how to take this advocacy even further; to the continental level and beyond. As someone who values personal growth and continuous learning, I expressed to Mussa my desire to take a short break at some point to pursue academic research in a field I had grown deeply passionate about. I believed that deepening my knowledge and expertise in this field would position me to make an even greater impact internationally.
Little did I know that the university campus that we visited five years earlier in London would host me as a doctoral researcher since October 2022, thanks to the Commonwealth Scholarship Commission in the UK. If it weren’t for the focused mindset, resilience and positive attitude I learned from this humble man, probably I would hardly make it to where I am today.
One thing that remains true, though, is that Mussa’s positive influence on my career trajectory and life in general doesn’t stop here. It doesn’t end with his untimely death yesterday, the 9th October 2024.
His influence will continue to manifest for as long as I live!
Ali Jookhun
Chairperson: Down Syndrome Association (Mauritius) and Board Member: African Disability Forum
“Your bravery and sacrifice will forever be honoured; you gave your all for a cause greater than yourself.”
Today, we mourn the loss of Mussa Chiwaula, a remarkable disability rights activist who dedicated his life to advocating for equality and inclusion. His passing leaves a deep void in the hearts of those who knew him and the many lives he touched with his unwavering commitment to creating a better world for people with disabilities.
Mussa was a powerful voice, speaking out against injustice and tirelessly working to break down barriers. His passion, strength, and compassion have left an indelible mark on our community, inspiring us to continue his work with the same courage and determination.
As we come to terms with this heartbreaking news, let us remember Mussa for his incredible contributions and honour his legacy by carrying forward the fight for the rights and dignity of all. Though he is no longer with us, his spirit will live on in the positive changes he championed and the hope he gave to so many.
Mussa Chiwaula. You are gone today, but your memory and your impact will never be forgotten.”
As tributes and more eulogies pour in, Mr Chiwaula will be remembered for the dream to bring disability-rights equality to all through his hands-on advocacy and leadership.
Farewell, our leader,, as you will finally be laid to rest in Malawi!