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 […]
After months of squabbles and uncertainty on who would become the next Chikulamayembe—the most senior traditional leader of the Tumbuka tribe—members of the royal council met on Thursday and finally elected an heir to the throne. But Group Village Headman (GVH) Chikalamba, who oversaw the election, told the press that they could not reveal the […]
A court in Mzuzu has ordered the removal of Mtima Gondwe as paramount chief Chikulamayembe. The High Court has removed Gondwe as Paramount Chikulamayembe of Rumphi. Delivering his ruling on the matter, Judge Thomson Ligowe, described the appointment of Gondwe as a breach of procedures and was therefore, unlawful and unconstitutional. According to the judgment, […]
Private practice lawyer Wesley Mwafulirwa has said Walter Mtima Gondwe will remain as Paramount Chief Chikulamayembe and not just acting following High Court ruling in Mzuzu throwing away an application by Joseph Bongololo Gondwe to stop the new Paramount Chief Chikulamayembe on legitimacy grounds. On November 8, lawyer for Bongololo Gondwe, solicited two injunctions, one […]
The High Court in Lilongwe has thrown out an application to stop the new Chikulamayembe from assuming official duties until a judicial review on the matter is heard. This means Mtima Gondwe remains the paramount chief Chikulamayembe. An aspirant to the chieftaincy Bongololo Gondwe asked the court through his lawyer Michael Goba Chipeta to grant […]
Mzuzu High Court on Friday said it will deliver its determination on the legitimacy of Mtima Walter Gondwe as Paramount Chikulamayembe on November 20 2019. This follows an application by the rival camp of Josephe Bongololo Gondwe, which is against installation of Mtima Walter Gondwe as Paramount Chief Chikulamayembe, saying the rightful heir to the […]
A rival to the newly installed paramount chief Chikulamayembe has gone to the High Court to seek the nullification of the new chief. Joseph Bongololo Gondwe says the Minister of Local government and Rural Development Ben Phiri erroneously installed Mtima Gondwe as the new paramount chief. Phiri installed Mtima Gongwe at a ceremony which was […]
Violence erupted in Bolero, Rumphi on Tuesday over chieftaincy wrangles as Minister of Local government Ben Phiri was installing a new paramount chief Chikulamayembe. Reports indicate that angry villagers have burnt down Chikulamayembe’s headquarters, three grain-houses storing food for Gonapamuhanya cultural ceremony as well as a vehicle has been burnt. Rumphi police officer-in-charge Ulemu Kalua […]
A warring party in the fierce Chikulamayembe chieftaincy wrangle has obtained a court injunction restraining the holding of an annual Tumbuka cultural festival, Gonapamuhanya on October 26. The faction of Bongolo Gondwe, which is fighting acting chief Mtima Gondwe, over the chieftaincy of the powerful Tumbuka’s Chikulamayembe, obtained the injunction. A member of the faction […]
The High Court has dismissed hearing of a Chikulamayembe chieftaincy case because it was prematurely brought to the court. Justice Dorothy De Gabrielle dismissed the case on Wednesday saying it was not ripe for adjudication. The claimants applied for an injunction against the elevation of the acting chief Chikulamayembe. But the judge said the elevation […]
If anyone needed any further evidence that our leaders can occasion and thrive on pettiness—when occasion demands sobriety and levelheadedness—well, the burial of the late Paramount Chief Chikulamayembe on Tuesday was the last straw. Here was an opportunity for our leaders, both from governing and opposition parties; church and traditional chieftainships; to rise above narrow […]
Livingstonia Synod general secretary Reverend Levi Nyondo and the church moderator Reverend Douglas Chipofya have refused to apologise to Tumbuka chiefs for demanding that some political leaders speak during the funeral ceremony of Paramount Chief Chikulamayembe on Tuesday. Nyondo said there was nothing wrong that he and Chipofya did. “As church, our role is to […]
Many political commentators had predicted that the funeral for Paramount Chief Chikulamayembe would be a unifying factor in a season where the political fray is furiously polarized; with marked differences. It happened when political foes have drawn daggers as they gear up for tripartite election next year. Many people thought the demise of the Chikulamayembe […]
Malawian newspapers on Wednesday has been dominated with events during the funeral service of the departed Paramount Chief Chikulamayembe of the Tumbuka (Nkhamanga Kingdom) at Bolero in Rumphi with both dailies carrying extended coverage through editorial comments condemning the drama and a governance commentator has added his voice to the political posturing. “Shameful” was the […]
President Peter Mutharika on Tuesday joined Malawians across the country in mourning Tumbuka Paramount Chief Chikulamayembe as he led the nation at the funeral at Chilongozgi Village in Bolero, Rumphi. Born Walter John Hardy Gondwe, Chikulamayembe succumbed to low blood pressure on Thursday last week aged 86. He died at Mzuzu Central Hospital. Minister of […]
Livingstonia Synod of the CCAP and the government on Tuesday tussled and had a prolonged tug of war after the government single handedly removed vice president Saulos Chilima and leader of opposition Lazarus Chakwera from the list of people to make eulogies at the funeral ceremony of Paramount Chief Chikulamayembe at Bolero in Rumphi. Master […]
The stage appears to be set for President Peter Mutharika and his embattled Vice-President Saulos Chilima to meet as both have confirmed to attend the funeral of at the funeral service of Paramount Chief Chikulamayembe at Bolero in Rumphi today, Tuesday. This will probably be the first time the two will meet at an event since […]
Livingstonia Synod of the CCAP has told people who want to attend the funeral ceremony of the late powerful Tumbuka chief Chikulamayembe not to put on party colours. General Secretary Levi Nyondo said this on Monday when the body of Paramount chief Chikulamayembe was taken from Mzuzu Central Hospital to his headquarters in Bolero Rumphi. […]