By: Mzati Nkolokosa

Life has a way of putting people in rightful places.

Eight years ago, this time, the media portrayed Jesse Kabwila as a hero of academic freedom at Chancellor College. Peter Mutharika, then Minister of Education, was portrayed as a villain, someone who had failed to resolve the academic freedom dispute.

The media in Malawi judged President Peter Mutharika for a task that did not fall under his ministry. The University of Malawi is managed by Council of University of Malawi and not Ministry of Education. But in a quest to portray Mutharika as a failure, journalists insisted on a lie that he had failed to manage the crisis.

Jesse was a darling of the media, then, eight years ago. Adjectives were used on her to qualify her strength, her fighting spirit. Even primary school children in Malawi knew there was Jesse Kabwila, the hero. Children could recognise her voice.

She spoke as if she was the last authority on matters of life. She acted as if she was some god, with knowledge of the future. She was Jesse, Jesse Kabwila.

Now, today, eight years later, not eight years ago, but eight years later, in 2019, the media no longer interviews Jesse. She is no longer at Chancellor College. She is no longer in Parliament. She is invisible, almost forgotten, while Mutharika is President of Malawi.

Life has a way of putting people in their rightful places.