Eulogies at the burial ceremony of former acting Paramount Chief Chikulamayembe of Rumphi, Mtima Walter Gondwe, described him as a peace-loving and development-conscious leader.
The Minister of Local Government and Rural Development, Ben Phiri who represented State President Peter Mutharika, said Gondwe united people from different backgrounds and promoted education by encouraging children to go to school.
”The traditional leader we are burying today was very humble and wished others well, such that President Mutharika is saddened by his death,” said Phiri.
People from all walks of life, including politicians, faith and traditional leaders, the business community, and the old and young, came to Bolero in Rumphi to pay their last respects to the former acting Paramount Chief of the Tumbuka people in the country.
Senior Chief Mwankhunikira of the district, who was very close to the Gondwe family and spoke on behalf of the chiefs, encouraged other traditional leaders to embrace the spirit of the late Mtima.
”Mtima loved everyone. There is a need for unity between chiefs and their people. That is what Mtima stood for,” urged Mwankhunikira.
Born in 1962, Mtima Walter Gondwe, former acting Paramount Chief Chikulamayembe of Rumphi, is survived by a wife and three children.
He died last Saturday at Mzuzu Hospital after battling a backache.
Mtima was the son of John Hardy Walter Gondwe, a respected Paramount Chief Chikulamayembe of the Tumbuka tribe, who died in 2018.
Since then, there have been chieftaincy wrangles with Joseph Bongololo Gondwe over the rightful heir to the throne. Paramount Chief Bongololo was installed as Paramount Chief of the Tumbuka in 2022.
