Vera Chirwa
| Vera Chirwa | |
|---|---|
| Born | 1932 |
| Nationality | Malawian |
| Occupation | lawyer |
| Known for | 1981-1993 detention |
| Spouse(s) | Orton Chirwa |
Vera Mlangazua Chirwa (born 1932) is a Malawian born lawyer and human and civil rights activist. She was Malawi's first female lawyer and a founding member of the Malawi Congress Party and the Nyasaland African Women's League. She fought for multiparty democratic rule in Malawi and was charged with treason, tried and sentenced to death by President Kamuzu Banda. She spent 12 years on death row. She was married to lawyer Orton Chirwa, Malawian Minister of Justice and Attorney General, who later died in prison.
Vera Chirwa was born in Malawi (then Nyasaland) in 1932.
In the early 1950s, Vera Chirwa joined forces with Rose Chibambo to form the Nyasaland African Women's League, which worked with the Nyasaland African Congress to gain Nyasaland's separation from the unpopular Federation of Rhodesia and Nyasaland. She became Nyasaland's first female lawyer, and was a founding member of the Malawi Congress Party in 1959. After Nyasaland gained self-government in 1961 and became the independent state of Malawi two years later, Orton Chirwa, Vera’s husband, became a senior figure in the new government as Minister of Justice and Attorney General.
After having a falling out with Kumuzu Banda, Chirwa and her husband were declared enemies of the state.
The couple were forced into exile in Tanzania a few weeks later by Banda. They lived in Tanzania, but traveled to Zambia, Great Britain and the United States of America. On Christmas Eve 1981, Vera and Orton Chirwa were kidnapped in the East of Zambia by Malawi security forces and taken back to Malawi to face charges of high treason.
The Chirwas were tried by a “traditional” court. Both lawyers, conducted their own defense, as traditional courts did not allow defence lawyers in a trial lasting two months in front of judges appointed by Dr. Banda. This case of demonstrated the deficiencies in the system. At the end of their appeal in 1983, the minority of the appellate judges that had legal training opposed the guilty verdict, but it was overruled by the majority composed of traditional chiefs.On the day of the trial Vera defiantly raised her hand to speak and looking the magistrate straight in the eye asked him on what grounds they were accused. Questioning the court was forbidden and the response she received was, "Nothing but you are culprit!".
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