Renowned comedian sworn in as vice president of Malawi

At a ceremony conducted in the parliament building in the nation's capital, Lilongwe, renowned comedian-turned-politician Micheal Usi was sworn in as vice president of Malawi.
Saulos Chilima, who passed away in a plane disaster earlier this month along with eight other individuals, is replaced by the 55-year-old.
When Dr. Usi spoke following his inauguration, he was met with a standing ovation and expressed thanks as well as grief over accepting the post.
As he assumes the role of vice president in the power-sharing administration, he pledged to uphold the memory of his predecessor and expressed gratitude to President Lazarus Chakwera for having faith in him.
Undoubtedly, his appointment has caused division among Malawians.
Some have questioned if he is serious enough to take on such a senior responsibility after seeing snippets from his acting career posted on social media.
Some have, however, commended President Chakwera for designating Chilima as the party's deputy and upholding the alliance's principles.
A veteran of the theater, Dr. Usi is no stranger to controversy. As the cheeky character he continues to play in the hit TV sitcom Tikuferanji, he is best known by the moniker "Manganya."
Just last week, his assistant informed the BBC that he was filming an episode.
He's one of the most recognizable local celebrities, having appeared regularly on national radio and television for over 20 years.
Dr. Usi has also been a fervent supporter of growing and advancing Malawi's film industry, which is unprofitable.
In fact, he worked as a hospital physician to first finance his acting career. His specialty is clinical medicine; because to a physician scarcity in Malawi, the majority of patients there are handled by clinicians. His desire to help underprivileged people was stoked by this, and he spent many years working for the Christian non-governmental organization Adventist Development and Relief Agency (Adra).
He held a number of positions there, including that of country director. It was via him that Adra provided funding for a number of radio and television soap operas that attempted to raise public awareness of HIV and other social issues. The newly appointed vice-president, who is married and has two daughters, graduated from the University of Bedfordshire in the United Kingdom with a PhD in youth development.

Despite working at Adra, he never let his acting career suffer; he continued to participate in plays, most of which were performed in the native Chichewa tongue.
Since he was such a well-known comic, many people assumed that he was pulling a practical joke when he started a political movement about seven years ago.