“Don’t Drop the Ball”: Chakwera Challenges Newly Appointed Senior Counsel to Exemplify National Integrity
President Lazarus McCarthy Chakwera has thrown down the gauntlet to Malawi’s newly appointed Senior Counsel, urging them to live up to the highest ideals of loyalty, integrity, and professional excellence, which he described as the foundational pillars for national transformation.
Speaking at Kamuzu Palace in Lilongwe on Thursday during the swearing-in ceremony of twelve distinguished legal professionals, Chakwera warned that the honour of being named Senior Counsel comes with a lifelong burden of leadership by example.
“You are now the example to the whole nation,” Chakwera declared. “And I myself will rely on you for counsel and wisdom as I continue to lead this country without compromising these values.”
He challenged the new appointees not to become complacent or rest on their laurels, stressing that their actions going forward will either uplift or betray the trust bestowed upon them.
“From now on, you cannot afford to drop the ball,” Chakwera cautioned.
In a stirring and philosophical tone, the President used the occasion not only to congratulate the legal minds but to issue a national challenge—calling for a culture of patriotic duty across all professions. He rebuked the widespread belief that money, power, prayer, or foreign aid alone can fix Malawi’s problems.
“We need a nation of citizens who are loyal—not to individuals or tribes, but to the country, its laws, and their professional duty,” he said. “That loyalty, that unshakeable devotion to Malawi, is what I saw in you when I made these appointments.”
He further defined integrity as the refusal to cut corners or tolerate mediocrity, calling it the antidote to Malawi’s chronic underdevelopment. On ability, he was unequivocal: “It means that when the time comes to execute, you do not hesitate—and you do not fail.”
The twelve Senior Counsel, now formally elevated in status and responsibility, are expected to not only serve as the legal elite but also as moral compasses in both their personal and professional spheres.
Chakwera’s message was clear: Malawi cannot afford excellence in name only. It needs leaders—especially in law—whose conduct sets the national tone.
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