The Body of late Rose Chibambo, Malawi’s first female cabinet minister, was laid to rest Saturday with full military honours at New Heroes’ Acre in Mzuzu along the M1 Road.
The Vice President Dr Saulos Chilima led Malawians in paying last respects at a ceremony which started with a church service at St Andrews CCAP Church of the Livingstonia Synod where late Rose Chibambo was a devoted member.
The funeral ceremony was attended by Malawians from all walks of life, including politicians like Leader of Opposition in Parliament and MCP President, Dr Lazarous Chakwera, Peoples Party acting President Uladi Musa, Former Vice presidents Khumbo Kachali and Justin Malewezi, Speaker of Parliament Richard Msowoya, cabinet ministers and traditional chiefs among others.
In his eulogy, the vice president said Malawi has lost one of the selfless women who fought for the nation.
“God gave us a remarkable woman who sacrificed her personal being for the national being and the same God has now taken her, we should thank God for the gift that she was,” said Chilima.
He said the president was saddened with the demise of Rose Chibambo, considering the contribution she made to the nation.
The vice president said government recognized the role played by late Rose Chibambo by naming a ring road in Mzuzu ‘Rose Ziba Chibambo Crescent’ and putting her face on a K200 note.
Leader of Opposition in Parliament Dr Lazarus Chakwera apologized to the bereaved family and Malawians for the atrocities and hardship that Rose Chibambo went through.
After independence in 1964, some ministers, including Rose Chibambo, rebelled against Kamuzu in a cabinet crisis. Chibambo went to exile in Zambia only to return home 30 years later (1994).
Chakwera said what happened is history and it cannot be changed and asked for forgiveness.
He said Rose Chibambo was not a rebel but a heroine and that Malawi Congress Party cherishes the contribution she made to the nation.
Speaking on behalf of the bereaved family, Kamuzu Chibambo, thanked government for the honour it has accorded the late Rose Chibambo, thus a burial with full military honours.
The PETRA President said the Chibambo Family was glad for what government had done by even providing the casket.
CCAP Synod of Livingstonia General Secretary Rev Levi Nyondo thanked government for according Chibambo a funeral with military honours and burying her at the new Heroes’ Acre.
He, therefore, asked government to ensure it develops the new Heroes’ Acre and not neglect the site.
Born Rose Lomathinda Ziba at Kafukule in the area of Senior Traditional Authority Mtwalo in Mzimba, Chibambo died aged 86 of heart attack at Mwaiwathu Private Hospital Tuesday, the 12th of January 2016, 21 years after returning from exile.
She was the only woman minister in the first cabinet in 1964.
