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Dr. Hastings Kamuzu Banda (1898? - November 25, 1997) was the founding President and former dictator of Malawi. He became Prime Minister on February 1, 1963, president in 1966, and declared himself President for Life in 1971.
During his one-party rule, Banda accumulated at least $320 million in personal assets. He was one of the few African rulers to establish diplomatic ties with South Africa during apartheid and only became partially rehabilitated in the eyes of other African leaders after the demise of the apartheid regime in South Africa.
He caused some amusement to Malawians in the early 1980s, when he banned the Simon and Garfunkel song Cecilia from the radio. This was at a time when his relationship with his mistress, Cecilia Tamanda Kadzamira, was going through a rocky period, and he clearly didn't like the lyrics of the song ("Cecilia/I'm down on my knees/I'm begging you please to come home").
He also used his presidential power to institute a dress code for all citizens of Malawi, which many foreign visitors found strange. For example, women were not allowed to bare their thighs and trousers were not allowed. For men, long hair was a sign of dissent and thus also outlawed. Men could be seized and forced to have a haircut on the discretion of border officials or police.
Banda finally allowed democratic elections in 1994, and he was soundly defeated by Bakili Muluzi, a Yao from the Southern Region of the country whose two terms in office were not without serious controversy. Banda died in a hospital in South Africa in 1997. The party he established, the Malawi Congress Party, continued after his death and remains a major force in Malawi politics.
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