Malawi VP Chilima pays tribute to lawyer Kumwembe

The Malawi Law Society (MLS) on Wednesday described departed lawyer, Mark Kumwembe, as courageous and hard working.

Kumwembe died in the wee hours of Monday at Kamuzu Central Hospital (KCH) after a long illness.

Vice President Dr. Saulos Chilima was also present at the funeral to bid farewell to his long time friend.

Speaking at the funeral in Lilongwe, MLS president, John Banda, said losing young lawyers like Kumwembe was pathetic as there were only 400 lawyers in the country against a population of 16 million.

He noted that the future of the country was in democracy as well as in the laws of the country and that the laws could not be respected if young, dedicated and courageous lawyers were lost.

Said Banda; “Last week Mark called me saying he wanted to renew his membership as a lawyer and start practicing again. I asked him how he was feeling and he assured me that he was well.

“I assured him that I would see him this week only to see him in this casket today.”

According to the MLS president, fellow lawyers worked tirelessly to save the life of Kumwembe when he was sick.

“We made sure that our colleague received all the necessary assistance he required when he was sick. I remember when he went to India for his kidney transplant he wrote a joking status on face book ‘my wife has cooked for me kidneys.’

“As much as we all laughed at the status and commented a lot, I tell you that Mark was in great pain and it was courage that made him write that,” said Banda.

He added, “As we bid farewell to him today, let us all imitate the courageous spirit that he had.”

Representative of the bereaved family Dr. George Chapola thanked Kumwembe’s friends, workmates and well wishers for donating money for their son’s trip to Indian.

“On our own as a family we could not have managed to send him to India for the kidney transplant, but with the assistance that different people gave, he went even though things did not work out the way we expected.

Chapola also hailed the Vice President, Dr. Chilima for sparing his time to bid farewell to his friend, Kumwembe.

According to him, Mark’s illness dated back to 2014 when he just had his wedding.

Born on 5th September, 1981, late Mark Kumwembe hailed from Chimaponda Village Traditional Authority (T/A) Tsabango in Lilongwe and he is survived by a wife, Ekari.

Follow and Subscribe Nyasa TV :