he was tortured, and spent five years in solitary confinement. A Presbyterian, Chihana was later critical of the church's silence following his detention. However, Amnesty International named him a prisoner of conscience, and was instrumental in his eventual release. He was released in 1977 but continued to protest against one-party rule. At this time, he traveled to England to study at Nuffield College, Oxford. Work with SATUCC He continued to work with trade unions in southern Africa; in 1985, he became the co-founder and secretary general of the southern African trade union coordinating council. Second exile and arrest In 1992, he returned to Malawi for a democratic conference. There he called Banda's party "a party of death and darkness" and called for a multiparty system. Following the speech, he was arrested and sentenced to two years imprisonment with hard labor for sedition. However, pressure continued to mount, and Banda agreed to a referendum, held on 17 June 1993, in which one-party rule was decisively rejected. Chinana was released four days before the referendum in part due to US Vice President Al Gore, who had summoned the Malawian ambassador to the White House to protest Chihana's detention and call for the introduction of democracy. Rise of political parties and foundation of AFORD He was the founder and leader of the political movement Alliance for Democracy which became a political party once it became legal to establish political parties in Malawi. Other parties formed then as well including Bakili Muluzi's United Democratic Front (UDF). In the ensuing general election Banda's party, the Malawi Congress Party (MCP), lost power to Bakili Muluzi's United Democratic Front (UDF), with Chihana's new political party, the Alliance for Democracy (AFORD), placed third. Ironically, in spite of Chihana's prominence as the leader of democracy in Malawi, the leader lost elections to the charismatic Bakili Muluzi who had been living outside of the country. Muluzi became the first democratically elected president of Malawi but appointed Chihana as the Second Vice President under his administration. Political career Chihana served as Vice President of Malawi under President Bakili Muluzi from 1994 to 1996 and again from 2003 to 2004. The period saw the political decline of AFORD under his leadership, shrinking to only two seats in the 193-seat parliament by 2006. Chihana also entered into a damaging feud with the Church of Central Africa, warning them to stay out of politics.