Muluzi pays homage to Gwanda
Former president Bakili Muluzi yesterday led thousands of mourners at Comesa Hall in Blantyre to pay their last respects to late veteran politician Gwanda Chakuamba.
Chakuamba, who was one of the few surviving old-hand politicians, died last Monday after months of battling with heart complications at Blantyre Adventist Hospital (BAH) where he was admitted on October 13. He was 82 years old.
His body was taken from College of Medicine mortuary to Comesa Hall at 10.20am for the public to bid farewell to the man who committed his life to serving government in different capacities for more than half a century.
Scores of people lined up along the Masauko Chipembere Highway to watch the slow approach 16-minute funeral procession led by the Malawi Police Service (MPS) from the mortuary.
Chakuamba’s body will lie in state at Comesa Hall up to around noon today when it will be taken to his home village in Nsanje for burial to tomorrow.
By 10.30am the Comesa Hall was virtually empty with mostly tearful family members and Chakuamba’s companions present but mourners started trouping in as time progressed.
An emotional Muluzi arrived at exactly 11am to find a hoard of United Democratic Front (UDF) followers and women clad in their party colours.
They were later joined by scores of Malawi Congress Party (MCP) women also dressed in their colours. But conspicuously missing were members of the ruling Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) officials.
In April this year, the departed veteran political heavyweight was unveiled at a DPP rally conducted by President Peter Mutharika in Nchalo, Chikwawa where he pledged to “die for DPP and serving Mutharika”.
Among the notable figures present were First Deputy Speaker of Parliament Esther Mcheka Chilenje and former Cabinet ministers Moses Dossi, Clement Khembo, Jafali Mussa, Peter Fatch, Brown Mpinganjira, Yusuf Mwawa, Ziliro Chibambo and Patrick Mbewe.
Government was represented by Rex Chiluzi, Principal Secretary for finance and administration in the Office of the President and Cabinet (OPC) and Bennet Nkasala, Blantyre district commissioner (DC). There were also opposition leaders like Kamuzu Chibambo of Petra and George Nnensa.
Speaking to the media later, Muluzi said the death of Chakuamba was a big loss to the nation considering the contribution he made to the nation. n
