Journalists mourn two colleagues

The local media fraternity at the weekend mourned the deaths of two journalists Ulemu Teputepu and Shepherd Augustine Naphulu.

Teputepu, a former Capital FM journalist, died on Saturday at Tshwane Hospital in South Africa while Naphulu, who until his death was working for Calvary Family Church (CFC) Radio and Television, died on Friday night in Blantyre.

Speaking in an interview from South Africa yesterday, Ulemu’s elder brother, Limbani, said the deceased succumbed to lung failure.

“He died on Saturday at Tshwane Hospital due to lung failure but we are still waiting for a full hospital report,” he said.

Ulemu joined the local journalism industry in 2003 and worked for Capital FM Radio before trekking to South Africa in 2011 to further his studies and has been working as a correspondent for Times Live.

Limbani said the family is arranging to repatriate the body and burial may take place on Saturday at his Ntapu Village, Traditional Authority (T/A) Likoswe in Chiradzulu.

Born on December 23 1981 at Kamuzu Central Hospital in Lilongwe, Ulemu is survived by two children.

Naphulu, 41, described by colleagues as “a humble, tolerant, peace-maker and accommodative”, joined CFC Radio in 2011 as news reporter.

Naphulu, survived by one child was laid to rest at Ntiku Village, T/A Mlumbe in Zomba. He died of diabetes.

Meanwhile, the Media Institute of Southern Africa Malawi Chapter (MISA Malawi) says it is touched with the death of the two journalists.

“We are touched with the sudden departure of our two colleagues, Shepherd and Ulemu. We mourn with the bereaved families of the two,” said Misa Malawi vice-chairperson Yvonne Sundu on Sunday. n