A husband, country in mourning: Zambia loses Brenda Muntemba, an envoy & women’s advocate

Zambia’s High Commissioner to Kenya Brenda Muntemba is dead.

Muntemba succumbed to injuries following a road accident on February 26, 2019 that occurred near Lukenya on the Nairobi- Mombasa highway.

Her husband Sulanji A. Sichilembe posted a picture of on Facebook showing the couple on a pulpit but with no accompanying message.

Family and friends shared heartfelt messages of condolence on the post.

The couple had been married for 12 years and celebrated their last anniversary at the Radisson Blu Hotel in Nairobi last October.

“But you excel them all…,” another one of his posts reads.

Other pictures show a seemingly happy couple, not shy of sharing their love with the public.

Muntemba, who died at 49 years, was renowned for her fight for women’s rights. She had once served as the country’s Police Commissioner and also Chief of Programs at UNESCO.

She wrote several books including In Retrospect and The Architect. “Her book Retrospect for instance, is a work aimed at inspiring the girl-child to reclaim her worth and challenges her to reach higher,” Zambia’s Daily Nation says.

A spot check on her Facebook page shows that her last post was published three days before the accident.

Most of her messages on her social media page are about the girl child with one of them reading: “Indeed All Girls Can.”

Another one reads: “Indeed all girls can! Too proud of you my sister Mutinta! You go girl!”

In the accident last month, a trailer collided head-on with the vehicle that was carrying three diplomats Muntemba, Duke Lephoko (Botswana Ambassador to Kenya) and Kama Wasa (Zambian diplomat).

They were heading to Nairobi from a meeting at Maanzoni Lodge in Machakos when the incident occurred.

The three diplomats were rushed to the Machakos Level V hospital before they were transferred to Nairobi in a military chopper.

https://twitter.com/MumbaMusondam/status/1108229248513392640

On behalf of NAREP, I convey our deepest condolences to the Zambian government, family and friends of the late High Commissioner to Kenya, Brenda Muntemba Sichilembe. We send our thoughts and prayers.

ELIAS CHIPIMO
NAREP PRESIDENT
20th March, 2019 pic.twitter.com/HGA1OgWQvL

— NAREP Zambia (@NAREPzambia) March 20, 2019