Rev Semphere mourned: MHRC chairperson dies with Covid-19
Malawi Human Rights Commission (MHRC) chairperson Reverend Patrick Semphere has died with coronavirus and tributes continue to pour in for the man — and all convey the deepest respect to the man of God, who also happens to be a journalist of great repute.
Semphere, who died in the early hours of Thursday, January 21, was elected MHRC chairperson — the state human rights body — in March last year by the previous Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) government led by President Peter Mutharika.
He once served as board chairperson of the Media Council of Malawi and was also instrumental in the establishment and development of TransWorld Radio (TWR) in Malawi.
Before joining MHRC, he was Communications Specialist for Malawi Education Sector Improvement Project.
Writing on his Facebook profile, Member of Parliament for Dowa North East, Sam Dalitso Kawale — who is chairperson of the Parliamentary Media Committee first shared a quote that Rev. Semphere once said: “Communication is not what you say, but what the other person has understood”.
Kawale said: “Those words were permanently engraved in my mind the day Rev. Patrick Semphere facilitated a marriage serminar at Silver Stadium club house some years ago.
“I first met him when I was doing internship at TWR in Blantyre during my college years. Then he took me as a producer and presenter of programs at TWR in Lilongwe after college, passionately groomed me in the media industry, blessed me and sent me to Plan Malawi to start Timveni project.
“In 2014, I called him when I became chairperson of Media Committee during my first term of office, to thank him for helping me succeed in my career, and he continued to inspire and encourage me without ceasing.
“And today, after fulfilling his work on earth, Rev. Patrick Semphere rests,” said Kawale.
Rev Semphere also impressively moderated the 2020 fresh presidential election debates.
Journalist Madalitso Musa said: “This man used to write with utmost sobriety. Rest well, rest. Patrick Semphere. You taught. You preached. You lived.”
“A humble servant of the Lord our God is gone,” says Anderson Kamwendo. “You did a lot for the Church and the nation. Saddened by your passing Pastor Patrick Semphere. Ambuye tathodwa ana anu.”
Roreen Mzembe: “Heaven has gained! And we have lost really big. He was a father and a mentor. Rest In Peace.”
Jastern Kambala reminisced that Rev. Semphere’s leadership attributes started way back in his academic days, saying he served as chairperson of the Student Christian Organisation of Malawi (SCOM) for their secondary school. “A great friend. Rest well Pastor.”
Eleanor Banda took cognizance that Semphere “impacted many lives; he was available for us; he went out of his way to be there for others” while James Chauluka said: “We thank God for the gift given to him and really he has delivered glory to God.”
Tiyamika Mzowa expressed her deepest shock: “What are you saying, Lord? You are taking so many men and women of God — today my dear Uncle Patrick Semphere is gone.
“I remember how as a little girl he used to take me along to see his then fiance Patricia Semphere and before long I was a proud flowergirl at their wedding. Just a few days ago he wrote of the impact evangelist Stephen Lungu had on his life and marriage. And today he too is gone!
“Where is the world going? I am heartbroken to learn of your passing Uncle. I can only imagine the devastation and helplessness Aunty and your three beautiful children must be feeling now. Ambuye tikhululukireni, tilire bwanji? May your soul rest in peace.”
Sunganani Manjolo wrote a poem:
Follow and Subscribe Nyasa TV :Another brother gone/
Rev Patrick Semphere/
My big brother and friend/
Since the day we met when I was a teen, he decided to ‘brother’ me/
Taught us a lot about marriage/
His love for the Lord ever steadfast/
His love for his wife and children simmering through the years/
From two years ago, we would pray together every Friday via WhatsApp/
He would ask for prayer when his work at the commission got hot. Such humility!/
Aunt Patricia Semphere and family, may the Lord carry you through this difficult time/
To the Word Alive family, we mourn together/
Zikundiwawa but the Lord will see us through.
MHSRIP. Abwino sakhalitsa muuse muntendere abusa.
This is where I don’t understand how God manages the affairs on this planet…..when good people don’t live longer on this planet. Just today for example, we have read about sex workers who stormed government offices in Zomba demanding that the covid19 restrictions should be lifted because they are hampering their work which according to them is an essential service to the nation…..and yet none of these harlots are dying of covid19. On the other hand we have the DPP thieves who plundered the economy of our country to the point that our hospitals are ill prepared for the pandemic……patients… Read more »
You need to seek God’s wisdom to continue to serve him and spread the Gospel where possible. You cannot wish for people to die because they have done bad things. Even Jesus dinned with thieves and corrupt tax officials and made it clear that he was on this earth to save everyone and especially the sinners. God bless you and read your bible regularly so that you can begin to understand God’s affairs on this planet.
And again one wonders why God allowed MCP to come back into Government yet it massacred a lot of Innocent Malawians during its 31 year reign.
A wonderful genuine man of God. May1000 others rise up and serve Giod with the same zeal, integrity, humility and wisdom. He leaves a massive gap in the nation as I know few that come close to rhe qualities this servant of God displayed and lived by.
I am speechless. What a great and humble man of God he was. May his soul rest in eternal peace indeed.. It’s like I am dreaming, is it a movie or its rapture! God help us..
You people fought Apm when he was putting measures against corona, look, now you are dying. Leaving families with no bread winner. Kusamva. Let’s learn something here
Is this kind of comment really necessary?
Didn’t Chilima say, he will only believe Covid when people start dying? That’s the sort of mentality we need to talk frankly about. Most of these corona deaths could have been avoided. We need to be brutally honest with each other, otherwise we lose more people.
We as a nation have lost a selfless son of the soil. A patriot who believed in Malawi. A great believer and servant of God. A dedicated family man.
May he rest in peace.
He led students from colleges and secondary schools to distribute bibles at Chifunga refugee camp in Mwanza during the Student Diakonia among the refugees when he was at Bible Society of Malawi. This was my first time to be involved in evangelism as a student and this impacted my life as a christian. MHSRIP.
How are we going to mourn Lord.?This is too heavy for us
We are experiencing very tough life, reduction in our incomes, no work as consultancies because most busineses are complaining that they are operating almost half way of their normal good days. our income h
May His Soul Rest In Eternal Peace