Malawi: Lawyer Soko Sounds Alarm Over Malawi's Jobs Crisis As Graduates Queue for Work

What the report says

Malawi lawyer Khumbo Soko has publicly warned that the country’s employment crisis is leaving many university graduates without work, despite the public cost of training them. According to Nyasa Times, Soko made the remarks in a Facebook post and framed the issue as a widening gap between the number of graduates and the number of available jobs.

He said the problem is affecting not only general degree holders but also professionals in sectors where demand is known to be high. The article says he pointed to doctors, nurses and other health workers trained at Kamuzu University of Health Sciences who are still waiting months or years for jobs, even as hospitals continue to face staffing shortages. He also said qualified lawyers who have already been admitted to practise are finding it difficult to secure positions.

Soko contrasted the current situation with his own early career, saying he moved from university into public service within days after graduating in 2009. He argued that, at the time, there were more openings in state institutions such as legal aid, the State Chambers and the Judiciary. By comparison, he said today’s graduates are encountering fewer opportunities, even as more law programmes are launched.

Beyond the legal profession, Soko urged better coordination among universities, government and the private sector, alongside job creation, stronger economic sectors and entrepreneurship support. As background, Malawi has faced persistent youth unemployment and concerns about whether higher education is aligned with labour market needs; those broader points are general context and not specific figures from the article.