Conman of the nation
Long before conmen became a dime a dozen, Malawi had a con artist who had such a sweet tongue he could sell you the pants you were wearing. He wore the façade of innocence, the face of a saint and had the sweet tongue of the serpent in Eden. I have forgotten his first name in the mist of time (was it Melvin?) but his surname was Chagunda, although I would be least surprised if it turned out to be an alias. He was the producer of Malawi's first Hollywood (and greatest) film that never got made! Freshly out of secondary school in 1995, my bestie James Sochera and I were idly wandering up and about, when we heard about a film production that was recruiting actors (ideally extras) for a movie that would star Cynthia Rothrock. Now, Rothrock was big. The mere thought of rubbing shoulders with her, even if it meant being kicked in the nuts, was edifying in the extreme. So we presented ourselves for recruitment at some nondescript office at the Chichiri Trade Fair Grounds. There was quiet
