There was drama at the funeral ceremony of Paramount Chief Chikulamayembe at Bolero in Rumphi district which was marred by a heated disagreement between traditional leaders and the clergy.

At first the mood was somber when thousands of people gathered to pay their final respects to the late chief of the Tumbuka clan in a ceremony which was led by Malawi president Peter Mutharika on Tuesday.

In his eulogy on behalf of Mutharika, Minister of Local Government and Rural Development Kondwani Nankhumwa said the country had lost a patriotic and loving leader.

Nankhumwa said the late Paramount Chief Chikulamayembe was involved in many developmental activities including resolving land disputes in most parts of the country.

But after Nankhumwa delivered his eulogy CCAP Synod of Livingstonia Moderator Reverend Douglas Chipofya stirred controversy when he requested Malawi vice president and UTM leader Saulos Chilima and Malawi Congress Party (MCP) leader Lazarus Chakwera to address the mourners.

This angered some chiefs who seized a microphone from Reverend Chipofya saying the law prohibits any person from speaking after the president.

Some people started booing at the moderator and other representatives from CCAP Synod of Livingstonia but the situation was contained when government officials accepted that there was an error with the programme.

Real name Walter John Hardy Gondwe, Paramount Chief Chikulamayembe died on November 29, 2018 at Mzuzu central hospital aged 86.

Paramount Chief Chikulamayembe was born on March 24, 1932.

He is survived by five children and 13 grandchildren.