Malawi mourns Professor Ngeyi Kanyongolo: We explain who she was and why the nation has lost big
Malawi is in mourning following the passing of Professor Ngeyi Ruth Kanyongolo, a distinguished legal scholar, human rights advocate, and the Vice Chancellor of the Catholic University of Malawi.
Professor Kanyongolo, who also served as the chairperson of Standard Bank Malawi’s board of directors, passed away earlier on Monday. She was 58.
Professor Kanyongolo was widely respected in Malawi and beyond for her profound contributions to law and advocacy for gender equity.
Born in Malawi around 1966, she pursued her early education locally before attending the University of Malawi, where she graduated with a Bachelor of Laws degree in 1991.
Her academic pursuits continued internationally, obtaining a Master of Laws from the University of London and a PhD from the University of Warwick.
Her career, spanning over three decades, began with her work as an Assistant Registrar (Legal) at the University of Malawi. In 2000, she joined the university’s Faculty of Law as a lecturer and eventually rose to the rank of Associate Professor.
She specialized in business law, labor law, social security, and gender law, fields in which she was both a prolific researcher and a committed educator.
As a passionate human rights activist, Professor Kanyongolo dedicated herself to the empowerment of women and marginalized communities, often consulting for organizations such as UN Women, UNDP, and the International Labour Organization.
Renowned lawyer Khumbo Soko has poured his heart bare in mourning the selfless Ngeyi.
“Some go teach because they need a job to put food on the table. Others, however, do it because they feel called. I believe that she fell in this latter category. If her commitment to ‘her kids’ [and by this all of us she embraced and mentored] was anything to go by. If her passion for what she did was anything to go by. If her going the extra mile, always, was anything to go by. In teaching, Ngeyi found her calling.
“But not only was she passionate about her academic work, she loved her profession too, dearly. Ask any of the men who have served as President of the Malaŵi Law Society and they will tell you that her contribution to her profession was exemplary. Be it in crafting our strategic plans or in helping put together our conferences. She was fully in it.
“Long before the law made a participation in these things mandatory. I am glad to say that this student of hers, when he served as President of the Law Society was able to count on the support, availability and counsel of Ngeyi. The last time she reached out, she was congratulating me on my work in the SKC criminal trial. And encouraging me to write a book. Ha! Nyifwa mwaŵanthu!,” he wrote on his Facebook page.
Beyond her academic and advocacy roles, she played a significant part in Malawi’s legal institutions. She was a past president of the Women Lawyers Association of Malawi, and she served as vice president of the Malawi Law Society.
Her leadership extended into corporate governance when she was appointed to Standard Bank Malawi’s board in 2013, later becoming its chair in 2020.
A champion for women’s rights, Professor Kanyongolo served on numerous boards, including Tilitonse Foundation, Equality Effect of Canada, and SASPEN (an association of social protection experts in Southern Africa). Her influence was felt across borders through her work on the SADC Gender Barometer Project and her contributions to the UNDP’s Gender and Human Development report.
Professor Kanyongolo is survived by her husband, fellow legal scholar Edge Kanyongolo. Her legacy lives on in the many students she mentored, the legal reforms she championed, and the enduring impact of her scholarly and advocacy work.
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