Experts have hailed the establishment of Nguru ya Nawambe Museum,
saying it will preserve the legacy of founding president Hastings Kamuzu Banda.
Kamuzu died on November 25 1997 at Garden Clinic in South Africa and declared in his will that the house, Nguru ya Nawambe located in Kasungu District, should turn into a museum and a library to be held as a Trust.
National Bank of Malawi plc yesterday advertised the position of a management
consultant to oversee the establishment and management of the museum. Reacting to the development, Catholic University of Malawi lecturer in anthropology Rachel Warren said the initiative is important as it will help many people to understand some history.
She said: 鈥淔or the purpose of history, there is need to have the library. Yes, people have heard about Kamuzu, but it is time we went beyond narrative. 鈥淣guru ya Nawambe is connected to Kamuzu and it is important to know more about him; who he was and what he did to the country.鈥
Mzuzu University history lecturer Jamu Nyirenda said in addition to preserving
history, the house will promote tourist Kamuzu was known not only in Malawi but also worldwide. Many will be interested to come and read more about him. Again
even locals will be curious to know more about him, especislly those that were not there when he was president,鈥 he said.
Meanwhile, Nyirenda said Nguru ya Nawambe dates back to 1878 when a Ngoni general called Nabambe went to fight Chewas.
He said: 鈥淲hen they were on top of the mountain, the Ngonis did not know that the Chewas had acquired guns. The Chewas could see the shield and after shooting for a while, they wondered that it was not moving.
When they went there, they only found the shield but the Ngonis had left. 鈥淪o Nguru is a Chewa name for shield
and Nabambe was a Ngoni general; hence, the name Nguru ya Nawambe.鈥 According to the advertisement, the activities of the museum will be linked to the Kachere Tree under which Kamuzu received his early education and Kamuzu Academy, a prestigious grammar school he founded in Mtunthama, Kasungu.