Atikonda Mtenje-Mkochi

Atikonda Mtenje-Mkochi (born 1983) is a Malawian linguist and lecturer. She became the Executive Dean of the Bingu School of Culture and Heritage and a Director of the Malawi University of Science and Technology (MUST) in 2023. She was the first woman to serve as a director of MUST.

In 2025, MUST's Senate approved the introduction of a Master of Arts in Music as part of the university's efforts to expand her school's academic offerings in music.

Mtenje-Mkochi is a member of the editorial board of the journal Advances in Sciences and Arts.

On the occasion of International Mother Language Day she spoke out in defence of mother languages including Chichewe and Chitumbuka. She saw indigenous languages as a tool to dismantle colonial power. On Africa Day in 2026, her photograph was featured in The Nation as part of a debate over an "identity crisis". The discussion focused on how to balance African identity with influences from outside the continent. In 2026 her mentor, Address Malata, announced her retirement and Mtenje-Mkochi published a tribute to her and her approach to leadership. Malawian Nyiha Verbal Tonology. Linguistic and communication exclusion in COVID-19 awareness campaigns in Malawi. Arguments for a cluster analysis of nasal consonant sequences of Sukwa. Morphosyntactic Variation in Bantu, 2026