Sacha Baron Cohen Likes Malawi, Loves Madonna-NOT

Sacha Baron Cohen Loves Malawi because in his upcoming movie, Bruno; the controversial filmmaker is teaming up with the producers of Borat to make a movie about a gay man who adopts a Malawian boy named David. Sacha Baron Cohen who in the past has said that he was a friend to Madonna, will out rightly offend the Queen of Pop who adopted David Banda from Malawi.

Cohen's earlier movie, Borat has promoted Kazakhstan's tourism as many did not know the country or even where it is situated on a map. Madonna helped in making Malawi known but Sacha Baron will even do a better job because Bruno will shed a negative light on Malawi. Any attention be it positive or negative is always welcomed. The Warm Heart of Africa, Bingu Wa Mutharika or even Lake Malawi are names that every Malawian know, but not people in the West. They will definetely want to visit after watching Bruno, who knows even to adopt a Malawian little child from Nkhoma in Lilongwe or Chichiri in Blantyre. The sad part is that Bruno's lead character is a black Jesus who is wearing a revealing thong....Not good..Not good Borat.

As if that is not enough Sacha Baron Cohen poked fun at Madonna this past Sunday at the Golden Globes Ceremony. His comments were not appreciated by some celebrities like Salma Hayek and Sandra Bullock. Cohen said: "This recession is affecting everyone, even celebrities. Victoria Beckham hasn't eaten for three weeks. Charlie Sheen has been forced to have sex without paying for it. It's true. And even Madonna has had to get rid of one of her personal assistants. (pause) Our thoughts go out to you Guy Ritchie."

That is fine as long as Bruno brings some publicity to Malawi.

Mmalawi Blog

Malawi's Hazel Warren Answers to all the Accusations Against Her

Caleb Phiri

Many have outrightly said that Hazel Warren is not Malawian and she is older than she says. In this Exclusive Interview,2008 Malawi Personality of the Year (2008 Malawi Web Award Winner), Hazel Warren answers to all the allegations circulating around and she also talks about her present and future plans. Hazel Warren is Big Brother Africa 3(BBA3) runner up.

Mmalawi Blog: First of all it’s a pleasure to have you here for this interview.

Hazel Warren: Thank you, I am honored

Mmalawi Blog: How do you feel having been voted 2008 Malawi Personality of the Year?

Hazel Warren: I think this is a big accolade, I did not see this coming, this must be my Christmas present! The feeling is great, it really shows that my contribution has been appreciated most of all I feel blessed.

Mmalawi Blog: So did you expect any of the fame you received before you went to the BBA House?

Hazel Warren: I thought of life after the show and I did not see the FAME I have now, I did know that I would be noticed here and there but it is definitely BIGGER than I thought.

Mmalawi Blog: Many people have been wondering about you, Could you please tell us about your Childhood.

Hazel Warren: I am born and bred in Lilongwe, I was born at the Kamuzu Central Hospital on Feb 6, 1983, the second born in a family of four children, the only girl! So I hung out with my brothers quite a lot from when I young. The family lived in Kawale 1 and 2 for most of my childhood, we also lived in Biwi and Chilinde and now I live in area 14.

I went to different schools, from Chisamba in Kawale, St. Maria Gorret (Lilongwe Girls Primary school), Livimbo and Nanjati then I went to Carewell Private and Walani Private and finally Bwaila Secondary School.

From There I went to Shareworld open University where I studied Travel, Tourism and Hospitality. They have also offered me a three year scholarship so I will be back to Shareworld soon.

Mmalawi Blog: Who or What do you consider as your love?

Hazel Warren: God Almighty!

Mmalawi Blog: What is your advice for young Malawians and Africans?

Hazel Warren: I think we should take pride in who we are, we are what we are and where we are for a reason. We should also develop a mindset of not waiting for someone else to do things for us, we should take the initiative and take the leading role.

Mmalawi Blog: What are your present and future plans?

Hazel Warren: There are a few projects I am working on, I would still like to keep the “Hazel” brand going so there are some activities that I am working on. I will also take up the scholarship offer, I am working on a recipe book (all of those BBA recipes and more) I would like to work with the youth, I find that most youths copy what their friends do in order to fit in, but I would like to make them see that you can be YOU and still be really cool.

Another area is in empowering women, in the sense that they can use readily available resources to better their lives.

Mmalawi Blog: Who do you consider as your Malawian Hero?

Hazel Warren: John Chilembwe of course, he laid down his life for our sake, that’s heroism.

Watch the 2008 Malawi Web Awards, where Hazel Warren won 2008 Malawi Personality of the Year:

Mmalawi Blog: What kind of Music, Movies, Activities do you like?

Hazel Warren: I like R&B, but I am not limited to that, I like a song that lifts up my spirits and also music that will make me dance, I also like some of our local music. I like real life dramas for movies and comedies also like some horror.I also like to cook; it was nothing new in BBA house, I like to look at nature, listen to the wind, the sound of water and birds in the wild.

Mmalawi Blog: What is your reaction when people are not happy with your success?

Hazel Warren: They definitely have a right to their opinion and expressing it, I am well aware that it is impossible to please everyone so that is inevitable.

Mmalawi Blog: Any words on the AIDS pandemic in Malawi?

Hazel Warren: It is a fact AIDS is affecting everyone, my personal opinion is that the unmarried youths should abstain and those who are married should remain faithful. I think abstinence is the best choice because you have no doubts, you know where you have been. For those who cannot abstain/be faithful should definitely condomize, Let us spread the love not the disease!

Mmalawi Blog: Your Perfect Malawi how do you describe it?

Hazel Warren: Being around the friendly people, peace, no hunger, healthy people and people who are not poverty stricken, to this add our amazing organic food and our unpolluted air!

Mmalawi Blog:Any last words?

Hazel Warren: I am definitely grateful for this accolade, and I am ever so grateful for the support I am getting both during and after Big Brother Africa.

I feel that Malawians have a lot to offer and we should step up and do more for our country and for ourselves.

You can connect with Hazel Warren on Facebook.

This Interview was done with Hazel Warren by Caleb Phiri for MMALAWI BLOG

Tintin is Gay; an African Response

I read The Adventures of Tintin when I was about 10 years old and I probably read all the comics from the Beligian comic writer, Georges Prosper Remi (HerGé). Yesterday, I read about the same Tintin who just turned 80 and who is apparently gay because he is blonde with funny looking pants and living with Captain Haddock who is also allegedly gay! I already heard that SpongeBob, Stewie Griffin and Asterix are all gay. I believe that some people simply want to gain attention and notoriety by having theories and assumptions. Tintin is beloved by many Africans from Malawi, South Africa and all over the world. If Tintin was really gay, he would have said it himself long time ago. In the late 90s and early 2000s, The Adventures of Tintin and Snowy could be found at the Lilongwe National Library in City Centre or even next door at the Lilongwe British Council. I remember reading all the comics because they were simply interesting and very entertaining. It is indeed true that Tintin does not mention his family in the comics but is that a reason for being gay? Is the lack of many female characters in the comics an indication that Tintin is gay? Many tend to compare him with other spies like James Bond, but in reality their stories are very different from each other. So as far as there's no real evidence that Tintin is gay and while waiting for that evidence, let us all stick to reality; Tintin is straight.
Steven Spielberg is currently producing a Tintin CGI movie set for 2010 with Andy Serkis (Haddock), Nick Frost (Thomson) and Simon Pegg (Thompson). The character who will play Tintin is yet to be found.


Chimwemwe T. in Lilongwe, Malawi for Mmalawi Blog.



MMALAWI BLOG

Who killed the African Reggae King?Investigating the Death of Malawi's Matafale

This a comment by an outraged fan of Evison Matafale, the African reggae King who died in Lilongwe, Malawi:
“Evison Matafale died because of the truth. This is my warning to all you killers: One day it will be your judgment day.Tidzakumana pamtengo wa kachere, ngati si inu ndi mwana wanu, Koma tidzakumana (We will meet, if not with with you, it will be with your children for your well deserved punishment)”

In November 2001, the Malawian reggae King, Evison Matafale passed away. He died in police custody. Many consider him as one of the best Malawian musicians of all times. When arrested, Matafale was in poor health and many believe that he died of natural causes, while others blame the use of force by the police and yet others do believe that the singer died as a result of Police negligence. We investigate.

Theory 1 Matafale’s music.
His music was not very political in his first album; “Kuyimba 1” Songs like Malawi,Watsetseleka, Chauta Wamphavu,Poison is Sweet covered the themes of love, freedom and power to his fellow Africans. The same themes were emphasized again in his sophomore album; Kuyimba 2 which contained songs like Freedom, Timba, Yangana Nkhope. The Album also contained the hit Time Mark which was about the 2001 September 11th terrorist attacks on the World Trade Center in New York. In Matafale’s songs, no names of political parties or politicians were mentioned like other African reggae artists would do. (Tiken Jah Fakoly,Alpha Blondy and even the late Lucky Dube). Anyone listening to the albums finds NO apparent reason to use violence against him and his convictions.

Theory 2: Matafale’s ‘Violence’
Evison Matafale was not very happy with the piracy that existed (and still exists) in Malawi so he had a quarrel with the music distributors and the Copyright Society Of Malawi(COSOMA). Days before his imprisonment, Matafale went and broke a table at a music shop owned by OG ISSA a Malawian of East Indian decent as a demonstration that he was not happy for the distributors turned a blind eye on piracy.This incident that happened in Blantyre might have been the reason why he was imprisoned. Though there are still some skeptics.

Theory 3: The Letters to the President
It is believed that Evison Matafale wrote letters to the Malawian president Bakili Muluzi to express his anger and unhappiness at the way things were run by the government. Among other things, the artist openly talked about the President’s alleged favoritism of foreigners over Malawians in business dealings. This is for many the real reason behind Matafale’s imprisonment at Maula in Lilongwe.

Evison Matafale died at Kamuzu Central Hospital in Lilongwe with Tuberculosis and some do believe that he died from complications related to the disease while others simply think that he was killed by the Malawi Police. Either way, Evison Matafale died in police custody.

Matafale’s death caused a great uproar in the Malawian music community. Matafale’s backing band, the Black Missionaries took over from where he left with the album Kuyimba 3. The album contained direct hits to the Malawi Government for its alleged negligence on Evison Matafale’s case. Many Malawian musicians mentioned Matafale in their songs and talked about the alleged injustice and corruption affecting the Malawian political system. Billy Kaunda, a musician turned politician sung about the death in a one of his song saying: “Chondigwere, chindigwere nditsatile Matafale” (I’m going to sing very openly and fearlessly so I don’t care what happens to me, even if it will be Matafale’s fate).
Watch a Video by Matafale's Backing Band; The Black Missionaries. The Song Mwana Wa Munthu (Ndilibe Naye Chifukwa) accuses the negligence of the Malawi Government(Matafale footage appears in the video:



After getting pressure from the international community, the Malawian president, Bakili Muluzi ordered an inquiry. The inquiry was very controversial especially to the Rasta community because no Rasta was represented in the panel. The controversy even grew when Malawian musician Lucius Banda was also called to take part in the commission as allegedly had been at loggerheads with Evison Matafale. The results of the inquiry were released with the death attributed mainly to Tuberculosis.
Finally, what or who killed Matafale? The question remains unanswered for some and answered for others.

Matafale was a nephew to Malawi music maestro Robert Fumulani (founder of Likhubula River Dance Band). The Black Missionaries were Evison Matafale’s cousins.The Black Missionaries are: Musamude Fumulani(RIP), Anjilu Fumulani, Chizondi Fumulani and Peter Amidu. The Black Missionaries are Malawi's most successful Band in terms of sales and popularity. Their video "Mwana Wa Munthu" was voted as the Best Video in the 2008 Malawi Web Awards. Matafale was a cousin to Malawian renowned musician Anthony Makondetsa who also comes from Chileka, a small town in Southern Malawi. He was also a childhood friend to Esau Mwamwaya, the London based Malawian musician singing with the duo Radioclit. Blantyre reggae artists Sally Nyundo and San B of the Pelemende and producers Ralph Chigamba, Chuma Soko and Ruben Chongwe have also collaborated with Evison.
Evison Matafale was Born in 1969 and grew up in Malawi and Zimbawe.He died on November 27th, 2001 in Lilongwe, Malawi.


Research and Interviews for this article were compiled and written for Mmalawi Blog

Bingu Wa Mutharika Winner of 2009 Malawi Elections

Bingu Wa Mutharika is set to win the 2009 Malawi Elections. Though Mmalawi Blog is not into politics, we decided to write 5 factual reasons why Bingu Wa Mutharika will win the May 19^th 2009 Malawi Elections and Bakili Muluzi will be narrowly defeated.

1. Bingu Wa Mutharika is the current President, he is therefore going into the election period with the needed momentum.

2. Bingu Wa Mutharika has control over the Malawi Media (Malawi Broadcasting Corporation(MBC), TV Malawi)

3. Bingu Wa Mutharika is considered by the West as the saviour of Malawi, as he fought corruption and actually rid those who were corrupted, be it in his own Party or in other Malawian Political parties.

4. Bakili Muluzi’s and UDF’s close allies have defected to Mutharika’s political party’s Democratic Progressive Party (DPP). These include Lilian Patel and Patricia Kaliati

5. The other opposition party Leaders apart from Bakili Muluzi do not pose any threats to Bingu Wa Mutharika's reelection bid.

Mmalawi Blog Malawi News