It is with a deep sense of sorrow and sadness that I have learnt of the untimely and tragic death of senior chief Magodi, Dr Fred M’membe

He wrote:

It is with a deep sense of sorrow and sadness that I have learnt of the untimely and tragic death of senior chief Magodi of the Tumbuka and Ngoni people, domiciled in Lundazi. He died today at Lusaka’s Levy Mwanawansa Teaching Hospital after a short illness.

Senior chief Magodi pays allegiance to both senior chief Mbelwa of Mzimba in Malawi and paramount chief Mpezeni of the Ngoni people of Zambia’s Eastern Province because of the history of migration, settlement and colonisation.

His departure from our midst has robbed us of one of the most eminent representatives of the generation of traditional leaders who are actively involved in the struggle for more just, fair and humane homeland and in the efforts to achieve a better life for all.

He belongs to the lineage of a proud and outstanding ancestry whose exploits in defence of our land, our dignity and our very being will forever remain etched in our proud history of resistance to colonialism. Senior chief Magodi was a wise, humble and respected traditional leader across the length and breadth of Eastern Province. We shall always remember him as an outstanding patriot.

On behalf of the Socialist Party and on my own behalf, I extend my heartfelt condolences to the Royal Family and to the Tumbuka and Ngoni people of Eastern Province and Mzimba in Malawi. As he departs to commune with the heroes of yore, I am certain that his message of a dignified and prosperous homeland will fill the ancestors’ hearts with joy.

May senior chief Magodi’s majestic spirit rest in peace!

Fred M’membe

President of the Socialist Party