Inkosi ya Makosi Mbelwa IV has died

Inkosi ya Makhosi Mbelwa IV of the Ngoni people in Mzimba has passed away today.

The controversial ngoni chief who has been at the centre of politics as well as cultural affairs in the country since the new multi-party dispensation was admitted last week to the Kamuzu Central Hospital.

He was later transferred to the private Mwaiwathu hospital in Blantyre.

The ministry of local government confirmed today that Mbelwa had passed on.

Spokesperson of the Ministry of Local Government and Rural Development, Maganizo Mazeze said the Ngoni chief died on Tuesday morning at Mwaiwathu private hospital in Blantyre. He was

Mazeze could not immediately say the cause of the death. However the Inkosi has been in hospital for some time.

Meanwhile, President Joyce Banda is expected to lead the nation in mourning the Ngoni chief, who has been influential in preserving the Ngoni culture by conducting the Umtheto cultural festival every year. No further announcements have been made.