Chikaonda burial deferred
Burial of the body of former Cabinet minister and corporate executive Mathews Chikaonda has been deferred from this Friday to an unspecified date due to other technicalities.
Initially, the body of Chikaonda—who died on October 30 in the United States of America—was scheduled to be repatriated home through Kamuzu International Airport (KIA) tomorrow before proceeding to his home, Tembetembe Village, Traditional Authority Kachindamoto at Mtakataka in Dedza for burial on Friday.
But former Reserve Bank of Malawi (RBM) governor Charles Chuka, one of the deceased’s close friends, said yesterday the funeral programme is being revised.
He said: “The movement of the body of the late Mathews [Chikaonda] from USA has encountered a technical hitch. The programme is being revised and the public will be informed of the revised programme soon.”
In his lifetime, Chikaonda served as RBM governor from 1995 before a brief stint in politics as Minister of Finance, Economic Planning and Development following his appointment in 2000.
In April 2002, Chikaonda—who is survived by a wife and three children—was appointed Press Corporation Limited group chief executive officer, a position he held until his retirement in December 2016.
Born on August 8 1954, he held a doctor of philosophy (PhD) in finance from the University of Massachusetts, USA; a master of business administration (MBA) from the Wharton School, University of Pennsylvania; bachelor of arts degree from the Council for National Academic Awards at Huddersfield University in the United Kingdom and a diploma in business studies from The Polytechnic, a constituent college of the University of Malawi.
He also served as professor of finance at Memorial University of Newfoundland in Canada between 1988 and 1994 before his appointment as RBM deputy governor in 1994.
