St Michaels holds funeral service of First Lady

The state funeral for Madame Ethel Mutharika, wife of President Bingu wa Mutharika, started with a church service held in the multipurpose Church/Hall of St. Michael and All Angels CCAP church on Saturday, 9th June, 2007. The departed first lady was born a Methodist but decided to join the CCAP church in Lilongwe in 2005. The 2500 capacity hall was full, with some people sitting at the amphitheatre just outside the hall. Among the thousands of mourners that attended the service were presidents Robert Mugabe of Zimbabwe and Jakaya Kikwete of Tanzania, the prime minister of Mozambique, the deputy prime minister of Swaziland, first ladies of Botswana and Zambia and Kalonga Gawa Undi, head of the Chewa ethnic group in Zambia, Mozambique and Malawi. In their sermons, the Right Rev. Dr Felix Chingota and Rev. Reynold Mangisa, who preached in English and Chichewa, respectively, spoke favourably of the deceased president's wife, saying she had left a legacy of being gentle and working tirelessly to uplift the lives of the underprivileged. The service was spiced with beautiful choral music by the Interdenominational Joint Choir and the Centenary Choir of the Seventh Day Adventist Church. After the church service, the remains of Madame Ethel Mutharika were taken to Ndata Farm in Thyolo District, where she was laid to rest, with full military honours. The First Lady died on 28th May, 2007 at the New State House in Lilongwe, and is survived by a husband, five children and seven grandchildren.