* Mtumodzi will be remembered as a hardworking and patriotic son of Malawi who dedicated his life to serving the country—Information Minister Kunkuyu
* As Machinga district information officer Martin Chiwanda, who died on Friday is laid to rest today in home district Mangochi
By Prisca Promise Mashushu & Ernest Mfunya, MANA
Chikumbutso Mtumodzi, former director at the Department of Information, has passed away after a short illness at Partners in Hope Hospital in Lilongwe.
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The news was confirmed a short while ago by the Minister of Information & Digitalisation, Moses Kunkuyu, who said he received the sad news earlier in the day.
“Mtumodzi will be remembered as a hardworking and patriotic son of Malawi who dedicated his life to serving the country,” Kunkuyu said, adding that further details will be shared in due course.
Family representative, Leria Mseka Likongwe said the funeral programme will be released following consultations with family members.
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At the time of his passing, Mtumodzi was serving as principal secretary in the Department of Procurement & Supply Chain Services at Government Stores.
He previously served as director of information from 2020 to 2023, before transitioning to his most recent role.
A journalist by profession, Mtumodzi became prominent in the media fraternity while working for Times Group, then known as Blantyre Printing & Publishing company under Blantyre Newspaper Limited (BNL) — publishers of The Daily Times, Malawi News and Sunday Times before joining the civil service.
Meanwhile, Martin Chiwanda, who until his death was district information officer (DIO) for Machinga has been laid to rest at Karonga Village, Traditional Authority Ntonda in Mangochi today, April 5.
Chiwanda, who also served as public relations officer for Machinga District Council, died last Friday at Machinga District Hospital where he was admitted on April 1, for pneumonia.
Deputy Director of Information, Lisa Malango described Chiwanda’s passing as a loss to the Ministry, saying he will be remembered for his hard working spirit, who was dedicated to duties.
She added that the Ministry will greatly miss his contributions: “It is very heart-breaking that our friend and workmate who was selfless and dedicated to his job has departed from us,” Malango said.
A representative of Machinga District Council, Shepherd Jere expressed sadness over Chiwanda’s passing on, saying that the council has lost a person who had passion to transform the district and “was available anytime the council wanted him”.
On behalf of the deceased family, Lucius Msosa said they were shocked with his death, saying that Martin was a strong family pillar that stood for everyone: “The family has lost a pillar and we are going to miss him. He taught us a lot and for that we are thankful to him. May his soul rest in eternal peace.”
People from Mangochi, Machinga, Nsanje, Lilongwe and other parts of the country gathered at his home village to pay their last respect — among them included officials from the Ministry of lnformation, journalists from various media organisations and Association of Catholic Journalists.
Senior Chief Chamba of Machinga and Traditional Authority Ntonda of Mangochi also paid their last respect to Chiwanda at Karonga Village, saying his death has left a gap.
Chiwanda, who was born on March 3, 1981, joined Ministry of Information on April 18, 2012 and served as DIO in Nsanje and Machinga. He is survived by a wife and two children.
