Eldest son of the late Inkosi ya Makosi M’mbelwa IV, Mkhosi Jere, will ascend to chieftaincy after the burial of his father, Zwangendaba, who died Tuesday after a battle against diabetes in the commercial city of Blantyre. He was 56.
The 28 year-old crown prince, a bank clerk with the First Merchant Bank (FMB) in the capital city, Lilongwe, will hold his late father’s spear, standing by his Ngoni-style coffin, right before the remains of Malawi’s most influential Ngoni Chief, are lowered into the grave.
Inkosi Mpherembe of Mzimba said in Lilongwe the young Jere will be enthroned as Inkosi ya Makosi M’mbelwa the Fifth (V) after burial and a set period of mourning at the headquarters at Edingeni, Mzimba. Engalaweni is the official Inkosi ya Makosi enthronement village.
Born April 16, 1985, he is the eldest of three brothers Mswati and Allan and a sister. The four are survived by M’mbelwa IV who was born August 15, 1954, alongside their mother. He was installed chief in 1984.
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Spokesman for the Ministry of Local Government and Rural Development, Maganizo Mazeze, confirmed the young Jere works with FMB. He joined in 2012.
He holds a Diploma in human Resource Management and had a working stint with the Malawi Electoral Commission (MEC) between 2008 and 2009. He went to St. Patrick’s High School in Ottawa, Ontario, in 2006 and a secondary school in Mzimba.
Burial
In typical Ngoni tradition, a gun will be shot before taking the body of M’mbelwa outside the funeral house to the graveyard, where another shot will be sounded again.
Before the last trip, the deceased Ngoni chief will be wrapped in the Nguwo (cow hide) and a cow gall bladder put on his body to symbolize the power he posses as a chief.
At the graveyard, Mkhosi will stand by the coffin side with a spear symbolizing ascendancy to power, before an Ingoma dance will be performed by the madoda/impi (elders). Further mourning and head shaving will follow.
Inkosi Mpherembe said the solemn event expects Goodwill Zwelethini of Zululand in South Africa; King Msawti of Swaziland, Inkosi ya Makosi Mpezeni of Chipata in Zambia, and Inkosi Magodi of Zambia to be in attendance.
The State President Joyce Banda, the Vice President Khumbo Kachali who comes from the same area as the deceased, and government officials will be present at the burial. The event has been accorded a State Funeral status.
