Today's penultimate nomination continues in the tradition of bespoke gentlemen. I have the honour and privilege of nominating Chikosa Silungwe PhD. aka Mtanga. Now Mtanga is my elder brother albeit younger. Confusing? Yes it is. But leave it at that. Mtanga is the first man I know to put on a designer suit and look great in dreads! And Mtanga knows the rules of a suit (malamulo ndi mwambo wa suti). Basic rules like removed the external label when you buy the suit. It is for marketing purposes only! And yes he will always insist that you must match the colour of your shoes and the belt and unless you are The Temptations, avoid the Mandingo colours! He also always points to the effect of not always matching the jacket colour to the tie to the pocket jacket square. His choice of shoes speaks of the man's class. Although Mtanga has more history with my brother; we have enough to share. I remember one glorious day in Cape Town when Dr Carlos Varela hosted us. The P-Square song "E No Easy" played on repeat! That was the day I witnessed with my own eyes the great man and surgeon that Dr Varela is. He was called out to operate in a woman who had been shot 11 times. He dropped us on Long Street and came back to collect us, exhausted but with the good news that he had saved her life. Great man, great taste of clothes and yes, great taste of cars! I notice although we are on different aisles; we both revere the German Engineering. Bespoke gentleman.
Mtanga has extremely high taste in music. He listens to some of the artists I consider iconic. His love and knowledge of jazz is legendary. I have a secret belief that he still has boxes of Jimi Hendrix, Earl Klugh, Dire Straits and Def Leopard 33 LP vinyls somewhere in his basement. And Mtanga is a regular patron of the Cape Town Annual Jazz Festival. Great fellow. Great company.
Mtanga has extremely high taste in music. He listens to some of the artists I consider iconic. His love and knowledge of jazz is legendary. I have a secret belief that he still has boxes of Jimi Hendrix, Earl Klugh, Dire Straits and Def Leopard 33 LP vinyls somewhere in his basement. And Mtanga is a regular patron of the Cape Town Annual Jazz Festival. Great fellow. Great company.
Mtanga has a real and attained doctor of philosophy. He actually spent real years researching at the Law School of the University of Warwick. That means he is widely read. He has not only read books and articles but has written books and articles. He also serves as the Editor of the Malawi Law Journal. The demands on his writing and editing skills are incessant. His writing style is unique only to him. His writing is not restricted to academic or scholarly issues but includes social issues. His quips are heaven. And he can pen a punch of a poem to boot. But caution, don't pick Mtanga's writing and think you are reading a column. He will lose you with the opening line! Inevitably, Mtanga has had a profound influence on my academic progress. It was Mtanga who suggested that I consider applying to do my research degree at the University of Warwick because of its critical approach to the study of law. He said "once you get to Warwick you will understand". It was Mtanga who gave me a heads up about possible research supervisors. It was Mtanga who advised on which areas were ideal to stay for a mature student. It was Mtanga who gave me a heads up of the Coventry night life. And when I arrived, I realised that this eminent Malawian scholar had left an indelible mark on his alma mater. As a researcher I cannot have asked for a better beacon. I am not ashamed to say I also share with Mtanga views that maybe seen to be on the left side of the 'political' ideological spectrum. We belong to the Socialist Legal Tradition of the convoluted Marxist-Leninist-Weber-Fanon-Foucault-Hobbes ideology. Of course Aristotle, Plato and Machiavelli are always central to most thought patterns. And I have had the opportunity of being taught by 3 eminent professors at the College that God Loved Most who have the same approach to law, legal thinking and philosophy like Mtanga; Professors Edge Kanyongolo, Garton Kamchedzera and Mwiza Jo Nkhata. Great legal luminaries. The title "comrade" is usually used exclusively among two of them plus Mtanga. El Che is proudly revered. It will be a privilege to join this league of extraordinary gentlemen when my time of initiation comes.
The rules are simple:
Once you are nominated, your 22 days start.
Every day you must record yourself doing 22 pushups. Try your best to reach 22. If it means doing assisted push ups on your knees,or stop to take a break, that's cool, but make sure to get them all done, all 22 push ups in one video. But in your case Mtanga, you don't have have to feel obliged to post a video, I have faith in you comrade.
From your Day 1, every day after you do your work-out, you must still nominate a different person. Try to choose people you think need this.
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