Malawi Electoral Commission (MEC) Chairperson, Justice Annabel Mtalimanja has expressed deep gratitude to Stanley Onjezani Kenani, for being honoured with the Personality of the Year 2025 Award.
In a public notice from the Commission, Justice Mtalimanja acknowledged the recognition expressing gratitude to the renowned Malawian Author and Social Commentator for the honour.
The award is in recognition of her leadership and commitment to democratic governance with the way she handled the September 16 General Elections which declared DPP candidate President Peter Mutharika as the winner.
In the notice, the MEC Chair attributed the feat to team work by the Secretariat and all electoral stakeholders.
“Justice Mtalimanja expressed deep gratitude to Mr. Kenani for the honour, describing it as a recognition of the collective effort by the Commission and Management and Staff at the Secretariat, as well as the entire array of electoral stakeholders who played different roles that contributed to the success of the 2025 General Election” it reads.
Writing on his Twitter handle, Kenani hailed the MEC boss for the way she managed the delicate role with boldness, grace and wisdom rarely seen among public officials.
According to the Geneva based social commentator, Mtalimanja put herself at par with Justice Anastasia Msosa (MEC chairperson in 1994) and Justice Chifundo Kachale who handled the 2020 Presidential re-run, whom he both described as the best judges to have ever handled elections.
Kenani heaped all manner of praises to the current MEC Chair further calling her a brilliant lady.
“She was calm but firm, focused and impossible to intimidate. To her, the word “pressure” does not exist. She simply did her job, within the timeframe the law provided her to do it. She has a way of telling troublemakers to go to hell, leaving them looking forward to the trip.
“Due to her bravery and wisdom, she calmed a nation on edge at the most critical time. She took the frog-in-the-pot approach of announcing results, bit by bit but each time the pot getting hotter until the frog realized it was too hot to keep staying in the water. The frog eventually jumped out on its own, after seeing the writing on the wall”
He noted this came amidst public concerns as to whether she was going to be impartial, due to her links with the late former President of MCP, John Zenus Ungapake Tembo who is said to be her biological father, which they argued made her uniquely unqualified for the job.
Some civil society organizations together with concerned citizens wanted the High Court Judge fired and planned demonstrations protesting her role as the Commission’s Chair. The demos were however disrupted by panga wielding thugs.
While noting that when many of the public institutions are falling apart, Kenani further applauded Mtalimanja arguing that she gave the nation hope at the time it was needed most, and shone the candle in the dark at the time light was urgently needed.
“She made some of us believe that despite the ocean of corruption in which we swim, there will always be some professionals who intend to simply do their job, without succumbing to bribery or intimidation.
“For this reason, this page recognizes Justice Annabel Mtalimanja as Personality of the Year 2025. Your steadfast commitment to impartiality and procedural credibility helped the Commission manage complex challenges, uphold constitutional timelines, and announce results in accordance with the law, reinforcing our country’s democratic foundations.”
The Award came with a monetary present of K500, 000 from Kenani which she has since donated to the Ministry of Hope Crisis Nursery in Area 14, Lilongwe, a facility that cares for orphaned, abandoned and other vulnerable Children.