As condolence messages continue to trickle in following the death of former President of Malawi Congress Party (MCP) and founder of New Republican Party (NRP) President Gwanda Chakuamba, other well-known politicians in the country have added their voices.
Chakuamba died on Monday afternoon at Seventh Day Adventist Hospital in the commercial capital Blantyre after a long illness.
Speaking in an interview with the press former President Dr. Bakili Muluzi who is also founder of the United Democratic Front (UDF) said he is deeply shocked with Chakuamba’s death.
“Like many I am shocked at the death of Gwanda Chakumba. He was a true politician.”
“It is with great sadness that we have lost him. My heartfelt condolences go to his family at what must be an incredibly difficult time for them,” said Muluzi.
On her part, former President Dr. Joyce Banda has said the country has lost a man who had the welfare of Malawians at heart.
“I have learnt with deep shock and disappointment about the death of Hon. Gwanda Chakuamba, one of Malawi’s finest and long-serving politicians. On behalf of the People’s Party (PP) and on my own behalf, I wish to convey heartfelt condolences to the bereaved family and the entire nation during this moment of grief. May His Soul Rest in Everlasting Peace,” reads in part the statement.
Also commenting on Chakuamba’s death, Rumphi East Member of Parliament Kamlepo Kalua described Chakuamba as his father.
“He mentored me in so many ways, recruited me under MYP special forces as a young boy……he was like a father to me, RIP HON GWANDA CHAKUAMBA. I WILL MISS U, THANK GOD I HAD THE CHANCE TO BID U FAREWELL,” reads Kalua’s statement posted on his official facebook page.
On his part, Malawi Congress Party (MCP) President Dr. Lazarus Chakwera has said he is deeply saddened with the death of Chakuamba.
“Today, I am filled with sadness and grief because of the news of the passing of the Right Honorable Gwanda Chakuamba, former President of the Malawi Congress Party.
“To his family, this is a loss of incalculable proportions, for in Chakuamba they had a great father, uncle, grandfather, and brother, who was doubtless a pillar of strength and a fountain of wisdom,” said Chakwera.
Added Chakwera: “To his friends, this is a loss of unimaginable pain, for in Chakuamba they had a companion whose warmth, convictions, and humor was enough to lift one’s eyes past the dark days of life’s hardships to the bright horizons of life’s opportunities.
“To his party, this is a loss of historical magnitude, for in Chakuamba we in the Malawi Congress Party had a confidant, counsellor, and counterpart whose experience in policy formation and implementation from the party’s infancy to its years of maturity, including those in which he was at the party’s helm, is beyond compare.”
Chakwera said the country has lost a fighter
.
“To his country, this is a loss of national ramifications, for in Chakuamba Malawi had a national institution, a Statesman, a servant leader, and a fighter who was both tireless in his quest for national development for all Malawians and unreserved in his eagerness to sacrifice his own personal freedom and comfort for the common good.
“And to me personally, this is a loss of deep anguish, for in Chakuamba I had a trusted advisor and compatriot, whose magnanimity and gregariousness was an oasis of grace for me, both of which I found in abundance when I personally called on him at his home not more than three weeks ago,” he said.
He added: “There are no adequate words in all the tongues of men to capture the immense debt we as a nation owe to Chakuamba for his inimitable contributions to our freedom and welfare. May the God he served and believed in cause the name of Gwanda Chakuamba to forever be a fortress and his memory and legacy a buckler against all enemies of his country’s progress.”
Born 4 April 1934, Chakuamba hailed from the lower Shire Valley area in southern Malawi.
He served in various cabinet positions under founding President Dr. Hastings Kamuzu Banda, Bakili Muluzi and briefly under Bingu wa Mutharika.
