Kamuzu Academy is a private boarding school in Kasungu, Malawi that was founded by, and named after, the late Hastings Kamuzu Banda, the former President of Malawi. It is described by its proponents as "The Eton of Africa".
History
The school was officially founded on 21 November 1981, although students had already been attending classes for a month at that point.
In 1987, it was the subject of a BBC documentary entitled "The Eton of Africa" made by John Rae.First shown on BBC One on 9th Sep 1987 , repeated on BBC Two on 1st Dec 1988, as recorded in the Radio Times.
The original intake selected two boys and one girl from each district in Malawi on the basis of academic merit, with no fees charged. The school changed to a fee-paying basis after President Kamuzu Banda was ousted from power in the election of 1994.Britten, Nick (26 December 2006). "The man who saved the Eton of Africa". The Daily Telegraph. Archived from the original on 5 August 2011.
An idiosyncratic feature of the school is that Latin and Greek were made compulsory subjects for all students from the beginning and are still taught today as core subjects. Kamuzu Banda is recorded as saying: "This place is for classical education, Greek, Latin, particularly Latin. I want that to be clearly understood by everybody. If you don't like Latin, don't come here.""The Eton of Africa" BBC documentary, minute 1:00.
The 40th-anniversary Founder's Day service in November 2021 was attended by President Lazarus Chakwera.Nyasa Times 14/11/2022.
Notable alumni
Catherine Gotani Hara, politician Nancy Kachingwe, feminist activist Samson Kambalu, artist and sculptor Chanju Samantha Mwale, lawyer Yolanda Kaunda, airline pilot Fiona Mwale, High Court judge.LinkedIn. Chifundo Kachale, High Court judge, former chairperson of the Malawi Electoral CommissionLinkedIn. Moffat Nyirenda, professor of medicine
See also List of boarding schools :Category:Alumni of Kamuzu Academy
References
External links
Kamuzu Academy at Malawi tourism Telegraph article "The man who saved the Eton of Africa" "The Eton of Africa" (BBC documentary, 1987)