Shock and sorrow have engulfed the Nation Publications Limited (NPL) family since Friday afternoon, following the sudden death of senior editorial department manager Elizabeth Lisuntha Banda.
A likeable and peaceable figure at NPL, the Nation Online Editor died at Blantyre’s Chitawira Private Hospital after a short illness, both family and NPL deputy chief executive officer Alfred Ntonga confirmed.
An African Bible College graduate, Banda joined NPL as a reporter in 2000. Over the years, she rose through the ranks and served in several senior editorial positions before assuming the demanding post of Current News Editor for The Nation before being promoted to her last position as Editor Nation Online in 2009.
Her death has shocked every member of NPL and the media fraternity as a whole.
Said Ntonga: “We are very very devastated. She had unique skills and a warm character. That is all I can say now.”
Banda hailed from Siwambala village, T/A Kaomba in Kasungu District.
People are gathering at her brother’s house in Manase Township, on the right turn from Blantyre after South End School. A single mother, 36, Elizabeth is survived by a daughter.
Details of her funeral will be announced in due course.
