Tengatenga resigns as Anglican bishop
Bishop James Tengatenga has resigned from his position as Anglican bishop of Southern Malawi Diocese to take up a job as a lecturer at a university in the United States of America (USA).
Tengatenga, who was in May this year elected chairperson of the Public Affairs Committee (PAC), has been offered a job at Dartmouth College, New Hampshire, according to PAC secretariat.
Tengatenga said the Anglican Church will issue a statement on his status in due course.
PAC executive director Robert Phiri said in response to a questionnaire that his organisation received communication from Tengatenga on Thursday morning about the job offer in the US.
Said Phiri: “At the moment, he [Tengatenga] has not resigned [here at PAC] nor is he supposed to resign immediately unless otherwise stated.
“Procedurally, the executive committee and the board of trustees will be formally engaged to examine other factors such as when he is likely to leave the country for USA.”
He said PAC appreciates the position Tengatenga has been in since the annual general meeting (AGM) held in May this year.
On Tengatenga’s legacy, Phiri said: “Generally, I cannot wait to say that there is no doubt that he has made tremendous contribution to PAC since the inception of the organisation, in particular the courage and focus he demonstrated during the All Inclusive Stakeholders Conference, Limbe, Blantyre in 2012. It was not easy.”
Tengatenga, for many years, has been at the centre of national policy dialogue, playing a major role to stop former president Bakili Muluzi’s failed third-term bid and spoke against the then ruling Democratic Progressive Party’s oppression, among others.n
