SKC turns ‘page boy’: Chilima, Nankhumwa link up at Judge Mwaungulu’s wedding vows renewal

On Saturday, December 1, 2018  politics took a back seat when State Vice President Saulos Klaus Chilima  (SKC) and Local Government minister and governing Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) Vice President, South, Kondwani Nankhumwa, jointly attended the wedding officiation for Supreme Court Judge Dunstan Mwaungulu as he renewed his matrimonial vows with his dear wife, Gladys.

The colourful event took place at Limbe Cathedral of the Catholic Church in Blantyre.

Nankhumwa represented President Peter Mutharika “who was preoccupied with other equally important matters”, while Chilima, a devout Catholic, was invited because he was  among the young boys and girls who made up the bridal party  as ‘Page Boy’ when Dunstan and Gladys made their first vows 35 years ago.

Chilima, who recently quit the governing DPP and formed his own political party, UTM, has been extremely critical of President Mutharika and his administration, claiming they preside over a corrupt administration.

He would be contesting in the May 21 2019 presidential polls to “correct matters”.

While Nankhumwa has not publicly attacked Chilima and UTM at his political meetings, other high-profile DPP officials have spat fire at them, calling UTM a grouping of disgruntled, egoistic and promiscuous politicians. It has been a fierce exchange.

On Saturday, however, it was all smiles; a time for celebration. Chilima and Nankhumwa briefly exchanged pleasantries just before the start of the wedding officiation and bade each other hearty farewell at the end of the ceremony.

‘Exemplary couple’

When he took to the pulpit, Nankhumwa conveyed President Mutharika’s congratulatory message to the ‘newly-weds’, saying the President was extremely happy for the couple for the many years they had spent together and many more that they will spend together after the wedding officiation.

“The President is proud of you because you are an exemplary couple not only to the young ones but adults too, especially your fellow Christians. The President is well aware that marriage is a difficult journey with many social pressures to overcome. 35 years after you made your first vows is a pretty long time; may God bless you more,” said Nankhumwa, who is also Leader of Government Business in Parliament and MP for Mulanje Central.

Nankhumwa said strong marriages and families are a strong foundation for the Church and nation, urging other Christians to emulate “Dunstan and Gladys” in putting God first before anything else in order to have successful marriages.

On behalf of President Mutharika, Nankhumwa presented a washing machine as wedding gift and MK500, 000 cash to the couple.

The officiating clergy also congratulated Dunstan and Gladys for the long-standing love, saying they had been ‘fortress’ as a couple for such a long time because they are God-fearing.

He emphasized that God created man and from the man’s rib, God created a woman that he should marry “and the two become one fresh”.

Nankhumwa said same sex marriages are against the Catholic Church doctrine as are polygamy and polyandry.

In his remarks, VP Chilima said Dunstan and Gladys were good example of a happy and successful marriage and that he was certain many youths in the Church would follow that example.

He thanked the couple and the organizing committee for inviting him and others who made up the bridal party 35 years ago and thanked God for their lives.

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