APM takes Bongololo Gondwe off Chikulamayembe throne

President Peter Mutharika has removed Bongololo Gondwe as Paramount Chief of the Tumbuka on grounds that he is not the rightful heir to the throne.

Secretary for Local Government and Rural Development the Reverend Moses Chimphepo said in a letter addressed to Bongololo Gondwe that the President has relieved him of the chieftaincy.

Reads the letter in part: “I write to inform you that His Excellency the State President of the Republic of Malawi, Professor Arthur Peter Mutharika, has removed you from the position of Paramount Chief Chikulamayembe with effect from August 30 2026 as per the attached letter from the President.

Bongololo Gondwe speaking at a press briefing

on Tuesday. | Taonga Chizinga

“Your removal is based on the concern by the Tumbuka tribe in which this chieftaincy belongs that you were appointed without following the Tumbuka culture on succession where the son of the departed chief takes over the throne.”

Chimphepo said the decision is based on Section 11(1a) of the Chiefs Act where a person ceases to be entitled under the customary law of that tribe.

The decision has come barely days after The Nation reported that government had silently removed Bongololo Gondwe and replaced him with Mtima Gondwe, who was once removed from the throne through the courts in 2021.

The issue first came to light during the burial of Mtima Gondwe last week when a statement from the Ministry of Local Government and Rural Development indicated that he was reinstated in an acting capacity in August this year.

In an interview last evening, lawyer Michael Goba Chipeta, who is representing Bongololo Gondwe, acknowledged receipt of the letter, but said he was still discussing the way forward with his client.

“We are discussing with my client, we have seen the document, and once done, we will let you know the way forward,” he said.

During a press briefing at Bolero in Rumphi District on Tuesday, Bongololo’s secretary Jolly Gondwe said they were surprised at the funeral of Mtima as he was addressed as Paramount Chief Chikulamayembe XIII.

Mtima, son to the late Paramount Chief Walter John Hardy Gondwe, was initially installed Paramount Chief in 2019, but the High Court sitting in Mzuzu nullified the installation in 2021 on the premise that his installation was unconstitutional, unlawful, procedurally unfair and invalid.

Former president Lazarus Chakwera confirmed Bongololo’s appointment as Chikulamayembe on March 12 2022.

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