MBC, family frustrations killed Rehana
As Malawians are still trying to come to terms with the passing away of television personality Rehana-Surtee Nyamilandu Manda, details are emerging that she was sent to her early grave due to frustrations both at home and work, Nyasa Times can reveal.
The undisputed Malawi queen of talkshow died on Thursday, December 29th and was buried on Saturday, the end of the year. Hundreds upon hundreds of people come to Blantyre’s Misesa cemetery to escort the 37-year old charming lady who made her name through the national television, MBC-TV.
She was described by the hundreds of mourners at her funeral as a woman with great personality, hard working, loving and caring person.
Family problems
Investigations by Nyasa Times have established that towards the end of 2010 and early 2011, the late Rehana who was married to Football Association of Malawi (FAM) president Walter Nyamilandu Manda had family problems.
This, only a few years after a colourful wedding ceremony that was blessed at the Catholic church’s Limbe Cathedral before a glamorous wedding reception at a top hotel in Blantyre.
The bone of contention in the family squabble sources say had been a Malawian lady the FAM boss had been seeing behind his lawfuly-wedded wife. The two lovebirds are reported to have fathered a child outside wed-lock.
Later, a close family source say Nyamilandu-Manda is reported to have started another love affair with a Blantyre based business lady, Maria Inglis. She runs a boutique at Chichiri Shopping Mall.
It was this affair that made the Malawi top football official to file for divorce with his wife Rehana early in the year 2011. The famous presenter was left without a husband and Walter Nyamilandu- Manda decided to take all the five boys the family had.
Work misfortunes
As she was trying to adjust to life without marriage, Rehana is reported to have been hit by another blow, this time at her work place, the national television, MBC-TV.
Following the merger of MBC’s two entities, televisio and radio in mid 2011, Director of News and Programmes, Chimwemwe Banda, decided to frustrate a fellow woman by transferring Rehana to MBC Radio 1 to work as a producer.
Family sources say that Rehana protested this posting heavily but discussions with Chimwemwe Banda and the MBC’s top boss Bright Malopa yielded no positive results.
Banda is reported to be currently frustrating all female MBC employees that she sees as a threat to her job. This information has been collaborated by many of MBC’s female employees.
As part of trying to drive home her protest over the new posting to MBC radio, Rehana is reported to have stopped reporting for duties waiting for management to reconsider its position. It was at this point that Chimwemwe Banda decided to hammer the last nail of Rehana’s coffin at MBC.
She was given a dismissal letter by MBC giving abscondment as reason for her firing. Following these two major incidences, Rehana is reported to have lived a miserable and frustrated life.
Sickness
Three weeks ago, family members say that Rehana was admitted at Blantyre Adventist Hospital after being diagnosed with pneumonia. Her lungs were reported to have been heavily infected that she had difficulties to breathe on her own.
During her three week stay in hospital, family sources say that Rehana complained bitterly in the manner her former husband and her former workmate Banda treated her.
The names of the two, are reported to have been on Rehana’s mouth until her final passing last Thursday.
Rehana, joined Malawi Television as a presenter before rising through the ranks to become a newsreader, producer and thereafter public relations officer. She was also presenter for the famous talkshow programme, Smart Talk.
