In a rare blend of statecraft and sermon, Malawi’s President Dr. Lazarus McCarthy Chakwera turned the 27th Mzuzu University Congregation send-off into a dramatic fusion of political poetry and pastoral power, reminding fresh graduates that their degrees are only as valuable as their humility.
Touching down with First Lady Madam Monica Chakwera at Mzuzu’s Grand Palace Hotel, the President was welcomed with pomp by a lineup of top-tier dignitaries—including MZUNI Vice Chancellor Professor Wells Singini, Higher Education Minister Dr. Jessie Kabwila, SPC Colleen Zamba, and Speaker of Parliament Catherine Gotani Hara.
The event marked the first of two sessions in this year’s graduation, with today’s ceremony spotlighting postgraduate students and undergraduates from faculties including Humanities, Social Sciences, Statistics, Tourism, and Technology. The second session, slated for May 16, will celebrate graduands from Health Sciences, Environmental Sciences, and Education.
But it was President Chakwera’s speech that stole the spotlight—equal parts leadership lecture and revival meeting. With the authority of a head of state and the cadence of a Sunday preacher, Chakwera urged the graduands to carry their education with grace, not arrogance.
“Your degree is not a license to be rude,” he warned, delivering a fiery rebuke of the rising tide of entitlement among the educated elite. “If people see selfishness and self-absorption in your attitude, your education will be useless.”
In true Chakwera style, the President didn’t stop there. He called on the young scholars to reject cynicism and negativity, and instead, to speak blessings over themselves, their families, and their country. “Never curse your nation,” he declared. “Not even the IMF can curse Malawi. We are blessed people. I am blessed. You are blessed. This presidency is blessed—until 2030!”
The crowd, momentarily transformed into a congregation, erupted in applause.
It was a moment that blended the celestial with the political, the spiritual with the strategic. And as the future of Malawi crossed the graduation stage, the message was unmistakable: wear your robes with pride—but walk humbly, speak blessings, and never bet against Malawi.
