Ceciwa Khonje

Ceciwa Khonje or Dinah Ceciwa Bwanausi Khonje (born 13 July 1938) is a Malawian-born broadcaster and political activist. She learnt radio broadcasting in Malawi and later worked in exile for the Zambia National Broadcasting Corporation. Her contribution to the independence of Malawi was overlooked for many decades.

Life Khonje was born in Blantyre in 1938. She was one of five children born to James Willard and Kumachemba Nettie (born Somanje) Bwanausi. who were in the Somanje Royal family. Her sister was Molly and her siblings included Augustine Bwanausi and Harry Bwanausi.

Khonje attended Blantyre Secondary School. She married Shadrack Grey Khonje, who was a biology teacher at her former school; the couple were active in what became the Malawi Congress Party when the word "Malawi" started to become popular. She recounted having to dive into ditches when walking to political meetings to avoid being arrested for breaking the curfew.

In 1999, she resigned from the diplomatic corps of the United Nations and went to live in South Africa where she worked for their diplomatic corps before starting to design jewellery.

Joey Power, a history academic in Toronto who wrote the 2010 book, Political Culture and Nationalism in Malawi: Building Kwacha, has been credited with trying to correct the history devised by Hastings Banda. The book describes the development of the Malawi Congress Party and unravels the notion that Hastings Banda was the sole reason that the country achieved independence. The book mentions Ceciwa Khonja as well as her brother Augustine Bwanausi as contributing to independence but being "rubbed out of history".

Private life Khonje married and had children. She is a loyal church member.