Whyghtone Kamthunzi

Whyghtone Kamthunzi (31 July 1956 - 18 May 2000) was a leading writer in the Chichewa language of Malawi in the 1980s and 1990s.

Kamthunzi was born in the village of Njolomole in Ntcheu district in Malawi. His father was a school teacher. After attending Ntcheu Secondary School from 1972 to 1976 he trained as a teacher at Lilongwe Teachers’ College. He began his teaching career in 1978 at Nkhata Bay and later moved to Malili Primary School in Likuni near Lilongwe.

Kamthunzi began writing plays and stories in 1976. He was also the leader of a drama group in Lilongwe. Kamthunzi became well known for his radio series Tinkanena ('We Told You So'), a series of plays on the theme of Aids about a young man called Same.

Among the short novels written by Kamthunzi were the following: