Minister Ben Phiri leads mourners at emotional funeral of dethroned former Paramount Chief

Mourners gathered in Bolero on Thursday to pay their final respects to former acting Paramount Chief Chikulamayembe, Mtima Walter Gondwe, in an emotional ceremony attended by senior government figures — just years after his extraordinary fall from grace saw him stripped of his chieftaincy by court order.

Leading the tributes was Minister of Local Government and Rural Development Dr Ben Phiri, who represented President Arthur Peter Mutharika at the funeral and praised the late chief’s commitment to grassroots development.

“The president is very sad to learn about the passing of the late chief,” Phiri told mourners. “It is not about how much money you leave behind or had at the point of death that matters. It is about the number of lives one touched. The late touched a number of lives.”

Family representative Group Village Headman Kamuzinga painted a moving picture of a man devoted to his community, revealing the late chief had quietly supported numerous orphans and vulnerable families throughout the area — leaving behind a gap the community will feel deeply for years to come.

Before his rise to traditional leadership, Gondwe built a long and dedicated career in public service, working for over 14 years as a civil servant in Mzimba District, where he started as a community development assistant before being promoted to community development officer.

His journey to the chieftaincy, however, took a dramatic and controversial turn. Gondwe was crowned Paramount Chief Chikulamayembe in October 2019, only to be sensationally dethroned through a court order in 2021 — a stunning reversal that saw him replaced by the current Paramount Chief Chikulamayembe, Joseph Bongololo Gondwe.

The late chief passed away at Mzuzu Central Hospital on Saturday at the age of 64. He is survived by his wife and three children.

The funeral drew a heavyweight turnout from Malawi’s political elite, with Second Vice-President Enock Chihana joining Minister Ben Phiri, along with several other cabinet ministers, senior government officials, fellow chiefs and members of the community, all gathering to bid farewell to a man remembered as much for his humility as for his turbulent chapter in traditional leadership.