By Daniel Zimba
Chitipa United assistant coach Gift Nathaniel Mkamanga died of a heart attack, members of his family disclosed Friday.
This was after a post-mortem was carried out at Kamuzu University of Health Sciences Friday following Mkamanga’s sudden death on Thursday when he was discovered lying unconscious in his room, on the sidelines of a Caf-B Licence coaching course in Blantyre.
A member of the bereaved family, Oliver Mwafulirwa confirmed that the late Mkamanga died of heart attack at Mpira Village in Chiwembe Township, Blantyre.
Mwafulirwa described the demise as a blow to the family.
“According to the post-mortem, the doctors say he has died of a heart attack. We will miss him as he was among our family pillars. He was a hardworking and focused person. Many people in the family relied on him,” Mwafulirwa said.
On his part, Football Association of Malawi Technical Director Benjamin Kumwenda said they were saddened by the sudden death.
“Gift was expected to be the first coach from Chitipa to hold CAF-B coaching license. People trusted him and the team trusted him to attend the training. Unfortunately, he has died. This is sad news to the entire football fraternity,” Kumwenda said.
National Football Coaches Association Chairperson Aubrey Nankhuni concurred with Kumwenda, describing the late Mkamanga as a coach who had a bright future.
“Gift was a good person and hardworking. This loss is not to Chitipa only but the whole nation at large,” Nankhuni said.
Mkamanga joined Chitipa in 2018 and helped the club to improve performance, with the team ending on fourth position in the country’s TNM Super league last season.
He died aged 41 and is survived by a wife. His body is expected to be laid to rest Saturday.
