DPP’s MEC Nominee Somanje Rejected Over Questionable Academic Qualification

The Democratic Progressive Party’s (DPP) attempt to have its member, Mackford Somanje, appointed as a commissioner at the Malawi Electoral Commission (MEC) has hit a snag following the rejection of his academic qualification by the National Council for Higher Education (NCHE).

The DPP submitted Somanje’s name to President Lazarus Chakwera for consideration as one of its three nominees to MEC. While the President went ahead to appoint Dr. Emmanuel Fabiano and Caroline Nfune, Somanje was left out. This prompted the DPP—through its Secretary General, Peter Mukhito—to write the Office of the President and Cabinet (OPC) seeking clarification on the delay to appoint the third nominee.

However, it has now emerged that the delay was due to a verification process requested by the OPC. In its findings, the NCHE disqualified Somanje’s academic credentials, specifically a Bachelor of Science in Computer Science purportedly obtained from the University of South Africa (Unisa) in June 1994.

In a letter signed by NCHE Chief Executive Officer Ambumulire Phiri, the Council stated that Unisa had no record of Somanje registering for any courses, despite a student number having been created in December 2004. Furthermore, Unisa raised concerns that the wording, fonts, signatory, and other elements of the certificate presented by Somanje do not match the standard format of a 1994 Unisa certificate.

As it stands, the Malawi Electoral Commission is operating with five commissioners instead of the constitutionally required six, following President Chakwera’s reappointment of three commissioners in June whose terms had expired.

Somanje has not responded to inquiries and did not answer calls or WhatsApp messages seeking his comment.