The body of Abdul Lapukeni, who died in a plane crash on Monday alongside State Vice President Saulos Chilima and eight others, was laid to rest Wednesday afternoon.
The accident occurred in Chikangawa Forest, Mzimba District.
The nine people that died in the crash are Lapukeni, Chilima, Lucas Kapheni, Chisomo Chimaneni, former First Lady Shanil Dzimbiri, Dan Kanyemba and Abdul Lapukeni.
Also on board were Colonel Owen Sambalopa, Major Flora Selemani and Major Aidin, who are Malawi Defence Force personnel who were operating the ill-fated plane.
Lapukeni was buried Wednesday in his home village of Chapola, Traditional Authority (TA) Chimwala, in Mangochi District, where young boys and girls, men and women, including members of the clergy, could not contain tears.
While death is anticipated, it was clear that nobody wanted Lapukeni to walk his last mile this soon
It was, therefore, not surprising to see people shedding a fountain of tears.
After the body departed Lilongwe in the morning, it arrived in Mangochi at 13:38 hours, when it was briefly taken to his family house.
The remains were then taken to Mpale Primary School Ground, where the funeral service took place.
Speaking on behalf of members of the bereaved family, Juwayi Ladu described Lapukeni as the pillar of the family.
“Abdul was the only child of Mr Lapukeni here. If Allah were to ask us about who He had to take from our midst, we could have chosen someone else and not Abdul Lapukeni.
“That said, we know that Allah is never wrong and we, as family members, will live with that,” Ladu said.
Ladu thanked the government for allowing the body of Lapukeni to be laid to rest with his kinsmen in his home village.
In his remarks, TA Chowe, who spoke on behalf of TA Chimwala, said the death of Lapukeni had robed Mangochi of a true son.
He said Lapukeni was serving as counsellor for the traditional leaders, who tapped from his well of knowledge on issues related to development.
“He was a good man and well mannered. Every time we met, he would encourage chiefs to make sure that children were being allowed to go to school. He used to stress the need for traditional leaders to be working with the government on development issues,” Chowe said.
In her remarks, Foreign Affairs Minister Nancy Tembo, who represented President Lazarus Chakwera, said the government had lost one of the experienced public servants in Lapukeni.
“He has worked in government for 30 years and that tells you how much experience he had. We were together in Korea last week and it’s sad that I am here speaking at his funeral. May God comfort us all,” Tembo said.
Women, men and children could not hold their tears at the sight of the hearse that carried Lapukeni’s remains.
A hearse is a large vehicle, originally a horse carriage but later, following the introduction of motor vehicles, a car that is used for carrying the body of a deceased person in a coffin at a funeral, wake or memorial service.
And the tears that started flowing down their cheeks the moment the hearse arrived at Mpale Primary School ground did not stop— even long after Lapukeni, the true son of Malawi, was buried.
Lapukeni, who until his death was deputy chief of protocol for Chilima, died aged 56.
He is survived by a wife and six children.
