Joe Manduwa

Joe Manduwa (born 1960 in Chimbalanga village under traditional authority Dambe in Neno, Southern Region, Malawi) is a Malawian politician. He served as a deputy minister and Member of Parliament of Malawi for Mwanza East for the United Democratic Front. He is most remembered for advocating the legalization of chamba, Malawi Gold. He is described as bold, frank, and rogue.

Political career He became a Member of Parliament under the United Democratic Front ticket in 1999.

Aphrodisiac He has also advocated the sale and marketing of a locally made herbal aphrodisiac as an export in order to lift the nation out of poverty.

Maize scandal While he was the chairman of a 19-member Parliamentary Committee on Agriculture, he was involved in investigating a maize scandal that was blamed for the Malawi's 2002 food crisis. He was charged with investigating the illegal sale of more than 160,000 tonnes of maize from the strategic grain reserves in the midst of the 2002 severe drought and famine which left the country with a 600,000-tonne food shortfall. Two million Malawians faced starvation due to this sale. Manduwa was fired over this investigation a few weeks before he was set to present the findings of the report to parliament without an explanation. Manduwa noted that "This is a move to block me from investigating some top people who are involved, whom we have uncovered". His dismissal was later reversed in court and he continued to serve in the role until 2004 when he lost re-election as an independent.