Yesterday President Banda officially unveiled her running mate in the May elections, Sosten Gwengwe. Gwengwe has been serving as Member of Parliament for Dedza Central until Wednesday when he tendered in his resignation at the Malawi Parliament. He is the current Minister of Industry and Trade but, who is Sosten Gwengwe?

Sosten Gwengwe was born on May, 20, 1977 and is married to Enelles. He hails from Kaphuka in Dedza. Gwengwe holds an MBA and is a Chartered accountant.

He did his Primary School in Lilongwe, Secondary School at Umbwi in Dedza, where he was selected to pursue a Bachelor of Accountancy  Degree at the Polytechnic of The University of Malawi. He graduated in 1999.

Gwengwe obtained an MBA specializing in Finance from Oxford Brokers University, UK, in 2003. He is a Chartered and qualified Management  Accountant with  Chartered Institute of Management Accountant(CIMA).

Between 2005 and 2008, while in the UK, he taught at various Colleges in London.

He returned home in 2008 and founded the Alice Gwengwe Foundation, a Girls Private Secondary School in Linthipe, Dedza and also managed the Dzuka Girls Secondary School in Nathenje Lilongwe.

Gwengwe successfully campaigned for parliamentary seat in Dedza Central, and was voted as a member of parliament in the 2009 General Elections.

In 2009, he was appointed as Shadow Finance Minister for Malawi Congress Party. He was the Finances Spokesperson in parliament, and the International Relations Committee of Parliament and the  Commonwealth Parliament Association (CPA) of the party.

In April 2012 Gwengwe who had dumped the Malawi Congress Party (MCP) and joined the DPP before dumping it to join the Peoples’ Party (PP) and was appointed as Deputy Minister of Transport and Infrastructure.

In December 2012, he was appointed Minister of Trade, a position he serves to date.