UNZA Graduate dies

The University of Zambia (UNZA) community has been left in shock and mourning following the untimely death of a recent UNZA graduate, who passed away just a day after participating in her long awaited graduation ceremony.

Comfirming the sad development in an interview with Lusaka, UNZA Outgoing Distance Students President, Brenda Chibalamuna revealed that Mwansa Chilufya died on Sunday, May 25, 2025.

“It is with a broken heart that I have to inform the group about the demise of one of our graduate colleagues, Mwansa Chilufya, this morning,” Ms. Chibalamuna said.

“She was studying Public Administration and Development studies as her minor.”

Ms. Chibalamuna, who graduated from UNZA alongside Ms. Mwansa, said the deceased fell ill while preparing for her graduation on Friday, May 23, 2025, but still gathered the strength to attend the ceremony.

“She fell sick while preparing for her graduation. However, she managed to attend her graduation but died in the early hours of today (Sunday),” she added.

Ms. Chibalamuna described her fellow graduate as focused and jovial. She further diclosed that Ms. Mwansa will be put to rest on Wednesday, May 28, 2025, in Kitwe, in the Copperbelt Province.

News of her passing has cast a shadow over what was meant to be a joyful milestone for hundreds of students who graduated alongside her.

Friends, family members, and the wider university community have expressed their sorrow, with many describing her death as heartbreaking.

“Mwansa was a vibrant, hardworking student who had a promising future. It is devastating to lose her just when she was beginning a new chapter of her life,” said one of her classmates, who requested to remain anonymous.

Ms. Mwansa who was minoring in Development Studies, is reported to have fallen ill, though the cause of her sudden illness is yet to be established.

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