Former Malawi Queens coach Griffin ‘Zagallo’ Saenda has died this morning at Queen Elizabeth Central Hospital in Blantyre.

According to his daughter Chipulumutso, Saenda who guided Queens to a historic third-place finish at Fast5 Netball Series in 2017 and won several domestic trophies with Kukoma Diamonds, was admitted to the hospital last week after suffering a minor stroke.

The 68-year-old, who hailed from Mwambo village, T/A Kuntaja in Zomba, is survived by 10 children.

She said burial arrangements are yet to be discussed by family members.

“He passed on around 5 am and his body is currently at College of Medicine Mortuary. Vigil is at his house in Chimwankhunda Township, Blantyre,” she said.

Netball Association of Malawi (NAM) general secretary Carol Bapu has described the former NAM technical advisor’s demise as a big loss to the netball fraternity.

“We cannot talk about Malawi netball without mentioning his name. He was an inspiration to many coaches and a big contributor to Malawi Queens’ achievements. We will greatly miss him. May his soul rest in eternal peace,” she said.

Apart from being a netball coach, the late Saenda was also Malawi National Council of Sports (MNCS) southern region sports development officer before his retirement recently.

More details will follow.