* Thank you for the talent, the wisdom, the leadership you shared to the world. You run your race pretty well, legend Helene Mpinganjira—Tiya Somba Banda
* Helene Mpinganjira has left an indelible mark on the netball fraternity. May her soul find eternal peace and her legacy inspire future generations—Elsie Elishaba
* We stand in solidarity with you during this difficult time and honour her legacy of dedication and service rendered to sport—Zambia National Olympic Committee
By Duncan Mlanjira
The passing of the country’s netball administrator par excellence, Helene Mpinganjira-Tasosa at the age of 65 has stunned the whole nation but the heartfelt eulogies being shared on social media in her memory, talks highly of her gracious living — and overall “we will never find another Helene”.
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She graciously played for Tigresses netball team; became a Netball Association of Malawi (NAM) administrator in which she went on to serve as general secretary; that elevated her to being elected Malawi Olympic Committee’s secretary general before being recognised by the country leadership to serve as Board member for Malawi National Council of Sports.
Late Helene, who died at Queen Elizabeth Central Hospital in Blantyre, where she had been receiving treatment, played a huge role in facilitating the Malawi Queens’ participation in the Commonwealth Games, following engagements with Commonwealth Games officials in 2006.
She is also credited for contributing to the Malawi Queens’ rise on the global stage, which saw the team finish sixth at the 2007 Commonwealth Games, barely a year after being admitted into the competition.
At club level, the late Helene remained a key figure in helping sustain the financially struggling Tigresses netball club, the team she once played for and kept it deep into her heart.
Thus the sports fraternity offer their heartfelt tributes in her memory and in hearing of the sad news, the reaction from Newton Piliwiza was: “Oooooooh what a loss! May her soul rest in eternal peace. What a great administrator she was; standing tall in thick of things. May The almighty comfort the belived family and friends.”
Tamanda Salijeni said the country “will never find another Helene”, with Elsie Elishaba saying she has left “an indelible mark on the netball fraternity [and] may her soul find eternal peace and her legacy inspire future generations”.
Former Super League of Malawi (SULOM) president, Tiya Somba Banda, posted on his Facebook account a picture of him and Helene together, to say: “Thank you for the talent, the wisdom, the leadership you shared to the world. You run your race pretty well legend, Helene Mpinganjira, may God receive your soul in eternity.”
Mwizanso Khonje’s fond memories of Helene includes her passion “to put netball on the map. Her passion was way up there, even when we were kids, she would be at Blantyre Youth Centre, jogging and encouraging the players.
“There was no NAM without her — this has broken our hearts. Amayi awa anali dolo, before the hype, before social media, she stayed on course, day after day, yendani bwino mama, your legacy lives on.”
The tributes include describing her as “such a distinguished sportswoman” who “made enormous contributions to the growth of netball in this country” and that her dedication to sports in general “will be greatly missed; rest well Legend”.
Her contributions to sports goes beyond the borders — in an official message, president of National Olympic Committee of Zambia, Alfred Foloko, said: “On behalf of the executive board, we extend heartfelt condolences to the Malawi Olympic Committee on the passing of the former Secretary General, Ms. Helene Mpinganjira.
“We stand in solidarity with you during this difficult time and honour the legacy of dedication and service [she] rendered to sport.”
Helene’s daughter, Beatrice, herself a distinguished international netball player, described her mother as the most loving and kind person she had ever known, saying she will forever cherish and love her.
This afternoon, as her body was being taken from Mnthunzi Funeral Parlour to her Chemusa residence, a dark clouds engulfed the sports fraternity that gathered to pay their respects.
Roman Catholic women from Chemusa Parish sang mournful hymns, including: “MULUNGU ayitana. Manja mwake muli lichero adzapeta tiligu yense tidzipita lero MULUNGU ayitana. Ayitana eeeye ayitana eyeee ayitana MULUNGU ayitana.”
Women in the background wept as the brown coffin was brought into a small temple for speeches and a brief prayer. Speeches were made by NAM president, the bereaved family, and a representative of Chemusa Parish.
At exactly 4:10 pm, the remains of Mpinganjira left the Mnthunzi premises for Chemusa, where prayers will be held on Wednesday before the body is transported to Lumbadzi in Lilongwe for burial on Thursday.—Additional reporting by Wesysylas Chirwa, MBCDigital & Arkangel Tembo, MANA; Pictures at Mthunzi Funeral Parlour by Arkangel Tembo
