The strong silent type. Yes, I know that's a streotype normally predominantly associated with men but a more deserving person you could not possibly find.
The first lady of Malawi, malemu Mama Ethel wa Mutharika passed away last week and the whole nation united in mourning.
She was one of those people you just couldn't pick a fight with, truly a good human being through and through. This reflected positively on and through her husband, our state president, Dr. Bingu wa Mutharika.
I can lay no claim to having personally met any of the two, nor to knowing them in any except the most rudimentary of ways, via word of mouth and the media.
Yet even after such dilution (anyone ever play broken telephone?) her character still shone through.
Sometimes the best compliment one can ever pay someone is to say nothing of them and this can never be truer than in Mama Mutharika's case. She gave selflessly and sought no accolades. Not for her the prominent fashionista image more commonly associated with the wives of other national leaders. Hers was the more typical mother/grandmother/friend/counselor/teacher role. She led by example and this drew people to her. Her husband implicitly trusted her judgement particularly on the public podium as can be evidenced by an anecdote in Ko's tribute to her Even in our internecine local politics none sought to malign her character and rarely was she spoken of.
If there is one thing I have learned to wholeheartedly aspire to, it is the love and companionship of a good woman. In this day and age of decaying moral fibre, women like her are few and far between but thankfully I have an idea of the kind of person I should look for in a life partner.
So besides all the other wonderful legacies she has left behind, this is my very own personal one. To find a one such as her must surely make for a very fulfilling life. Our president has been blessed and while I may share a modicum of his grief, I doubt any can truly comprehend the depth of his sorrow. So I pray he finds strength in the trying times ahead and does not lose sight of his 'Dream in Colour...'
Mayi famba zvakanaka, tichadzokuona
We love you and may your legacy live on through your family.
