Family members tell court late ex-minister Magande acknowledged Namweemba as daughter

Relatives of late former Finance Minister, Ng’andu Peter Magande, have told the Lusaka High Court that Namweemba Bianca Magande was his daughter — and described how they were chased from his funeral for stating so. In her witness statement, Eunice Kachelo, a maternal cousin traditionally considered Magande’s sister, recalled conversations spanning decades in which the late minister acknowledged having a child. Kachelo said the two were raised as siblings because her mother and Magande’s mother were sisters.

“In 1987, he told me he had a daughter in Livingstone,” she said. She added that in later years, Magande updated her that the girl was attending nursery school, and by the early 2000s expressed concern that she had stopped. Kachelo said she eventually learned that the child’s mother was related to former Agriculture Minister, Mundia Sikatana.

When Namweemba travelled to Lusaka in 2021 searching for her father, she reportedly stayed with Kachelo for six months. Kachelo recounted how Namweemba met Magande at the home of Samson Hamatowe, in the presence of Mr Kachelo. “It was agreed that she goes with her father, the late Magande.

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However, he was unsure of how she was going to be received by her stepmother, therefore it was agreed that she goes with Mr Kachelo to his farm where she would be staying, but she refused, hence them bringing her to me,” she said. She told the court that Magande maintained regular contact with Namweemba and provided support.“He would call frequently and send support,” she said. However, Kachelo said the long-acknowledged relationship became the source of conflict at Magande’s 2023 funeral.

Aaron Mwiinga, 87, brother to Magande’s late mother, testified that he first met Namweemba at the funeral. He said that during a family meeting, elders asked for all the deceased’s children to be presented. “Eunice pointed at Namweemba and identified her as one of the children,” Mwiinga said.

He told the court that Magande’s widow reacted angrily. “She, together with her children, chased us out of the funeral house,” he said. “We were forced to sit outside. Members of the maternal family were not allowed to remain inside.”

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