People from all walks of life yesterday paid their last respects to legal scholar Ngeyi Ruth Kanyongolo who passed on after a short illness at Mwaiwathu Private Hospital in Blantyre on October 28 2024.
In their eulogies, the clergy, academics and other mourners highlighted Ngeyi’s life and works of charity as the epitome of humanity.
Before Archbishop George Desmond Tambala of Lilongwe Archdiocese presided over a befitting sendoff mass, High Court of Malawi Judge Jean Kayira, who spoke on behalf of Chief Justice Rizine Mzikamanda, described Ngeyi as an embodiment of a biblical virtuous woman of Proverbs 31.
She said: “She demanded excellence both from her peers, her seniors and juniors. She was a passionate person in ethics and etiquette in both her personal and professional life.”
Ngeyi, who worked for 23 years at University of Malawi (Unima), rose through the ranks to become associate professor of law, an academic accomplishment that encapsulates her hard work and passion for the pursuit of knowledge.
Taking his turn, Malawi Law Society representative Modecai Msisha said he will remember Ngeyi as a leader in research aimed at improving the legal profession.
“She was an academic but she did a lot of work for the Malawi Law Society. She was a leader in research in finding new ideas in managing the affairs of the Malawi Law Society,” he said.
Women judges representative Judge Zione Ntaba said as an academic, Ngeyi served her country well and was a star in gender justice while human rights activist Habiba Osman in an interview yesterday said the fallen scholar was a trailblazer for women’s rights.
Osman said Ngeyi made women and girls’ rights popular when the issues were still a taboo and patriarchal attitudes were entrenched in law and in practice.
While others were crying because Ngeyi had shaped their academic future, some were shedding tears because they had lost a beacon of help and inspiration in her.
In his eulogy, Ngeyi’s paternal uncle Friday Jumbe said his niece supported over 35 people, including others not related to her in their education.
“She was challenging that she will help anyone in the extended family that was willing to pursue education,” he said.
His sentiments are corroborated by Unima’s law lecturer Bernadette Malunga, who wrote on her Facebook page that Ngeyi always supported people from the surrounding areas.
She said her golden heart endeared her to many people, who often came to Unima’s campus in Zomba to see her.
Such was her charm that will make many, including her daughter Ulemu Kanyongolo, miss her forever.
In her teary eulogy, she said: “Our hearts are broken, but there are a couple of things that are giving us encouragement. First, my mother was putting God first. Secondly, she loved enjoying every moment.”
Until her death, Ngeyi was Catholic University of Malawi Vice-Chancellor. She is survived by a daughter Ulemu and husband Edge, a retired associate professor of law.
