CRUISE 5 WITH LUCIUS CHIKUNI PART 1 08 May 2022

Lucius Chikuni is a veteran radio broadcaster in Malawi and has been relevant to the radio listening population for more than 5 decades. Having finished his secondary education he went to St John’s Teacher-Training College. He never really taught, but worked as an accounts clerk at the Nyasaland government’s controller of stores in Blantyre for two years or so. Chikuni joined the then Federal Broadcasting Corporation of Rhodesia and Nyasaland (FBC) as an announcer in 1962. In 1964, the Malawi Broadcasting Corporation (MBC) was born and Mr. Chikuni was one of the pioneers at the radio station. He is the proud producer of the historical radio epic play code named Adaferanji. In March 1980, the then Head of State, Ngwazi Dr Hastings Kamuzu Banda appointed him as deputy head of the Malawi Mission to the United Nations in New York and after a one-and-a half stint there, he was posted in the same capacity, to Washington, D.C., the capital of the United States of America. Chikuni was promoted to full ambassador and posted, in December, 1985 as Malawi High Commissioner to Kenya, concurrently High Commissioner to Uganda, Permanent Representative to the United Nations Environmental Programme (UNEP), Permanent Representative to the United Nations Centre for Human Settlements (HABITAT), ambassador to Egypt and ambassador to Israel. In 1987, he was posted by the Government of Malawi as ambassador to South Africa. In 1990, he returned to the Home Service in the civil service, where from 1994 to 2003, he held the position of Principal Secretary, Commissioner for Disaster Preparedness, Relief and Rehabilitation, Principal Secretary for Foreign Affairs, 2003-2004 and Principal Secretary for Labour, 2004-2005. He reverted to broadcasting when he briefly joined Zodiak Broadcasting Station (ZBS). Chikuni is a married father of five boys and five girls.