Jumani’s uncle gets emotional after media question on his nephew’s link to Kamuzu

James Kaunda, uncle to Jumani Johansson—the man who claimed to be son to Malawi’s first president Hastings Kamuzu Banda but died suddenly of heart failure last week—has said the family can neither confirm nor dismiss possibilities that his nephew was Banda’s child.

Kaunda, brother to Mirriam Kaunda a mother to late  Jumani the Miss Malawi 1976, told reporters  that what the family knew was that he was “one of our own.”

He said: “He [Jumani] was my sister’s son. And, he has been part of our family all these years. He was born at Ekwendeni [Mission Hospital] here in Malawi.”

According to Kaunda, Jumani has on a number of occasions visited his mother’s village—where he is due to be buried this weekend.

Pressed to comment further on whether Jumani was indeed Kamuzu’s son, Kaunda sounded a little disturbed.

“Why is everyone talking about this Kamuzu thing? Can’t we please concentrate on the funeral?” queried Kaunda.

Kaunda said since leaving Malawi when she worked for the defunct Air Malawi as hostess his sister—Mirriam—left for Sweeden where she had been living with her husband and family until she died in 2017.

“She asked to be buried in Sweden—according to her will. But she belonged here. She is a part of us,” said Kaunda.

Jumani will be buried at Lusangazi in Mzimba, her mother’s home, as some family members are yet to jet into the country.

He died on Saturday at Queen Elizabeth Central Hospital (Qech) in Blantyre, leaving unanswered questions regarding his paternity.

His mother claimed Jumani’s father was Muhammad Jogee, a Malawian of Indian descent and a chartered accountant who moved to England years ago.