Major General Gilbert Mittawa is adding a new rank to an already unusual résumé that combines military command, law, advanced policy studies and the presidency of Malawi’s top-flight football league.

Mittawa, President of the Super League of Malawi (SULOM), has been promoted from Brigadier General to Major General in the Malawi Defence Force (MDF), bringing his military career to a new level while he continues to lead the country’s elite football competition.

His profile extends well beyond the military uniform. A trained lawyer, Mittawa holds a Bachelor’s degree in Law from the University of Malawi and has served in senior legal positions within the MDF.

He subsequently pursued postgraduate studies across Africa and Europe, earning four Master’s degrees in fields closely connected to law, security and public leadership.

His qualifications include a Master of Security Studies from the University of Rwanda, a Master of Laws from the University of Dundee in Scotland and a Master of Public Policy from the University of Oxford in England.

His fourth Master’s degree is in Policy and Strategy from Kenya’s National Defence University, which he completed in May 2025.

But while his military and academic careers were developing, Mittawa also established himself in football administration.

He served as SULOM’s Legal Adviser before becoming Vice-President, bringing his legal background into the administration of the league. His earlier role as SULOM vice-president and legal adviser is documented in Malawian football reporting. (Nyasa Times⁠)

His elevation to the presidency followed Fleetwood Haiya’s departure from SULOM after becoming president of the Football Association of Malawi. Mittawa subsequently emerged as the league’s president.

As SULOM president, he has been involved in a period of significant change for Malawi’s top-flight football, including the end of TNM’s long sponsorship era and the emergence of the FDH Bank Premiership.

The new sponsorship, announced in January 2026, is a five-year K5 billion deal, with FDH Bank committing K1 billion per season to the league. (Nyasa Times⁠)

Mittawa described the new partnership as part of an agenda to revive, reform and rebrand the league, while the sponsorship also introduced a player-welfare revolving fund and other support measures. (Nyasa Times⁠)

His latest promotion therefore adds another dimension to a career already spread across several professional worlds.

From legal practice to military service, from Oxford and Dundee to strategic studies in Kenya, and from the MDF to the presidency of SULOM, Mittawa’s career has developed along parallel tracks rarely found in one professional profile.

His rise to Major General now places his military advancement alongside a continuing role in football administration, making him a figure whose public career reaches from national security and policy to the organisation of Malawi’s premier football league.