Traditional Authority Mwamlowe buried
Frail waves ended their repetitive journey on a visibly serene beach, emitting a gentle blow that sent picturesque palm leaves gyrating on the rocky cassava fields that bestride nearby hills.
Such was the shoreline setting at Mlowe in Rumphi, a subplot of calm and beauty, as heart-rending dirges and eulogies poured marking farewell to Traditional Authority (T/A) Mwamlowe XI who died at Kamuzu Central Hospital on Thursday morning.
As nature had it on Tuesday, the hissing wind was mild enough and the legacy of the man, born Evans Davies Winner Kachipapa Mwamlowe on September 25 1942, was heard loud and clear.
According to Paramount Chief Chikulamayembe of Rumphi, Mwamlowe, who succumbed to malaria and a stomach tumour, was “a voice of conscious in his council”.
Speaking to about 2 000 people who gathered at Mlowe Trading Centre, CCAP Livingstonia Synod moderator-elect Douglas Chipofya described the deceased as one of a rare breed of God-fearing chiefs.
It is against this backdrop, Minister of Local Government and Rural Development Tracizius
Gowelo who graced the funeral, urged the bereaved family to avoid succession wrangles that usually end in court battles.
“My plea to the deceased’s family is that sit down and come up with the rightful successor to the good chief whom we are burying today,” said the minister before consoling the family with K50 000 (about $131) from President Peter Mutharika.
But Chikulamayembe was more candid: “Chiefs are not self-appointed. If you think you are the rightful heir to the throne, take your time and appropriate people will tell you.”
The last mile of the chief, installed on February 5 1978, started and ended with the resounding sounds of bigilala and mbata, the former a royal trumpet signalling end of an era and the latter a horn announcing bereavement in the shoreline area.
