NDATA, Malawi — Thousands of Malawians yesterday flocked by foot, on bicycles and in vehicles to the burial of controversial leader Bingu wa Mutharika at a family mausoleum, dubbed the “Taj Mahal”.
Fackson Moya (48) walked 10km to witness the last journey of the man praised for early policies that ended a devastating famine but died in office blamed for pushing one of the world’s poorest nations deeper into crisis.
“It is worth it for me to walk this distance to come and say bye to our hero who ended hunger in Malawi,” Moya told AFP ahead of the funeral which was being attended by several African leaders, including Malawi’s new president Joyce Banda.
The government declared the day a national holiday to allow people to witness the burial.
The late leader was buried alongside his wife Ethel on his sprawling family farm in the southern district of Thyolo.
He was buried in a white marble edifice he had built during his eight years in charge of one of the world’s most impoverished nations.
The late president also built a marble-and-granite mausoleum costing $600 000 for Malawi’s founding president Hastings Kamuzu Banda, who died in 1997.
Several heads of state and government, among them President Robert Mugabe, witnessed the burial. The former World Bank economist designed the building himself and called it “Mpumulowa Bata”, which means “peaceful rest” in the country’s main language Chichewa. But the country’s media has dubbed it the “Taj Mahal”.
- Chamisa under fire over US$120K donation
- Mavhunga puts DeMbare into Chibuku quarterfinals
- Pension funds bet on Cabora Bassa oilfields
- Councils defy govt fire tender directive
Keep Reading
The original Taj Mahal, located in India, is regarded as one of the seven wonders of the world.
The funeral cost $1,5 million.
Mutharika, who died aged 78 of a heart attack on April 5 amid demands for him to step down, had said he wanted his mausoleum to be a “national monument to be visited by Malawians as part of a national heritage”.
“He created space for himself at the mausoleum,” Local Government minister Henry Mussa told AFP. Mutharika came to power in 2004 as the country’s third president.
He was succeeded by former foe and vice- president, Joyce Banda.
