Estranged First Vice-President Jane Ansah on Saturday celebrated her 71st birthday with a reflection on her personal journey and commitment to continue economically empowering vulnerable sections of the population.
During the party held at the her official residence in Area 12, Lilongwe, she said she has endured numerous challenges she could not have overcome without God’s intervention.
“In the good times, God has been my source of joy and in the difficult times, He has been my comfort and strength. When doors have opened, He has given me reason to rejoice and when I have faced challenges, He has given me the courage to keep moving forward. Today, I can confidently say that I am a living testimony of His grace,” said Ansah, a Senior Counsel (SC).
She described the period between 2019 and 2020 as the most difficult in her life and thanked her family for standing by her.
Ansah was apparently referring to a time of incessant street protests led by some civil society organisations, that at times turned violent, against the outcome of the 2019 Tripartite Elections she presided over as Malawi Electoral Commission (MEC) chairperson. The protesters demanded her resignation.
On February 3 2020, a five-judge panel of the High Court of Malawi sitting as a Constitutional Court nullified the 2019 presidential election over irregularities in the management of results and ordered a fresh election. The judgement was also upheld by a seven-judge panel of the Malawi Supreme Court of Appeal.
In her birthday speech, the retired Justice of Appeal also paid tribute to her husband for his unwavering love and support, particularly during the most challenging moments of her life. She also thanked her larger family, friends and well-wishers for their support.
Said Ansah: “Public service comes with many responsibilities and demands and having people who understand, encourage and pray for you is a blessing that cannot be measured.
“I also thank God for the friends, colleagues and well-wishers who have walked with me over the years. Some have celebrated my successes with me, while others have encouraged me during difficult moments.”
The Vice-President also used the occasion to thank President Peter Mutharika for picking her as his running mate in the September 16 2025 General Election, a decision that paved the way for her to become the country’s Second Citizen.
Earlier last month, Ansah opened up on her relationship with Mutharika, saying it remains cordial but said that some officials in the governing elite were creating bridges between her and the President as they were apparently not happy with her choice.
Her guest list for the birthday celebrated on October 10 instead of October 11 included people with disabilities, people with albinism, persons of short stature and the elderly.
She said she chose to celebrate with groups that are often marginalised in society as part of her efforts to promote inclusion and empower them to lead meaningful lives.
“This year is different. I chose to celebrate with my friends whom I always encourage and want to empower. I always tell them not to segregate themselves, but to be sociable, and here they are celebrating with me,” said Ansah who last year celebrated her 70th birthday with politicians, mostly from the governing Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) days after taking oath as Vice-President.
She said she intended to use her Jane Ansah Foundation and other interventions to help the groups achieve financial stability and play a greater role in the country’s development.
Representing the University of Malawi law class of 1978, retired Justice of Appeal Anthony Kamanga, SC, described Ansah as a visionary leader whose ambition was evident since their student days.
He said Ansah was the first member of their class to pursue postgraduate studies and subsequently rose to occupy senior positions in government.
Kamanga said the class remained proud of her achievements, particularly her appointment as the first Malawian woman to become Attorney General.
He said that under Ansah’s leadership, the Office of the Attorney General commanded respect and established a legacy that others could emulate.
In May 2020, Ansah stepped down from her position as MEC chairperson after the Supreme Court upheld the Constitutional Court ruling, saying “I respect the judgement of the Supreme Court, not the demonstrations”.
In August this year, our sister newspaper Weekend Nation reported that DPP officials, senior Cabinet ministers and aides for both the President and the Vice-President link the breakdown between the two not with policy differences, but a collapse of trust triggered by Ansah’s trip to the United Kingdom last December.
