The Maravi Post

NDATA, Thyolo--An emotionally charged Peter Mutharika told mourners at Ndata that his sister in-law Callista Mutharika "will never walk alone" as a widow.

Peter said this after Pres Joyce Banda had implored on the Mutharika family to take care of the former first lady who lost her president-husband on April 5 after suffering a heart attack.

He thanked Callista for the "love you gave my brother. You will never walk alone."

He said the family should accept "God's will."

Mutharika, 78, died while serving his second and final term which will end in 2014.

Pres Joyce Banda is now Malawi’s new president. She was sworn in two days after Mutharika’s death, becoming the first female head of state in southern Africa and the second on the continent.

Peter, who was being groomed by his brother to succeed him, is now leader of the Democratic Progressive Party (DPP).

He promised supporters that he would never abandon them.

"I am here in Malawi no matter how difficult the future will be,” said Mutharika, a former university professor who taught law in the United States for many years before returning to Malawi enter politics.
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©2012 The Maravi Post. Reproduction authorised, with usual acknowledgment