WEDNESDAY, 10.30PM
THOUSANDS of Malawians converged on the capital, Lilongwe on Wednesday to bury the country’s founding father and former dictator Hastings Kamuzu Banda, who died last week aged 99.
The five-hour funeral started in the grounds of State House with a speech by President Bakili Maluzi, followed by a religious ceremony attended by African heads of state, including Zimbabwe President Robert Mugabe, his vice-president Joshua Nkomo, and Botswana President Ketumile Masire.
“Today sorrow surrounds our nation because Malawi has lost a founding father,” Muluzi said in his eulogy. “Today is also an end of an era for us for Doctor Banda was a remarkable man. He was a statesman,” he added.
Banda’s long-time companion, Mama Tananga Cecilia Kadzamira, and other relatives laid the first wreaths on the grave.