Maria Chidzanja Nkhoma
Maria Chidzanja Nkhoma | |
|---|---|
| Born | August 9, 1952 |
| Died | January 9, 2021 (aged 68) |
| Known for | singer and actor |
Maria Chidzanja Nkhoma (August 9, 1952 – January 9, 2021) was a Malawian singer, actor and broadcaster.
Life
Nkhoma was born in 1952 and in 1982 she began her career as a presenter and announcer at the state owned Malawi Broadcasting Corporation. She was there for 12 years and she also worked as a producer.[1] She supplemented her income by singing as she brought up three children. In 1985/6 she was one of the people MBC sent to South Korea for training.[2]
She took part in choral workshops at Chancellor College where her singing "galvanised the audience" according to Dr Mellonee Burnim in the Oxford Handbook of Music and World Christianities.[3][2]
Nkhoma was the head of the women and children's department at the Zodiak Broadcasting Station[1] when she died at the isolation centre at Kamuzu Central Hospital from COVID-19.[4] She was one of the most famous people in Malawi to die as a result of the pandemic.[5]
Nkhoma had played the title character in a new TV series named Apongozi. It was based on two long running radio series. Ten episodes had been filmed and these were broadcast and deidicated to her memory. At the premiere of the first episodes a song about her was sung by Rudo Chakwera.[6]
References
- ^ a b "MISA Malawi mourns veteran broadcaster Maria Chidzanja Nkhoma". MISA Malawi. 2021-01-09. Retrieved 2026-03-19.
- ^ a b Bowen, Ne’ema (2021). "The Original Artistic Role Model, Singer and Mother; Maria Chidzanja Nkhoma: Musician, Mother, Poet, Broadcaster, Activist". The Society of Malawi Journal. 74 (2): 19–27. ISSN 0037-993X. JSTOR 27088920.
- ^ Burnim, Mellonnee (2016-07-07). Dueck, Jonathan; Reily, Suzel Ana (eds.). Tropes of Continuity and Disjuncture in the Globalization of Gospel Music. Vol. 1. Oxford University Press. doi:10.1093/oxfordhb/9780199859993.013.16.
- ^ "Maria Chidzanja Nkhoma dies of Covid-19". Malawi 24. 2021-01-09. Archived from the original on 2025-05-22. Retrieved 2026-03-19.
- ^ "Famous Malawi Public figures we lost in 2021- May their souls rest in peace". 247MALAWI NEWS. 2021-12-30. Retrieved 2026-03-19.
- ^ Online, Nation (2022-12-12). "Apongozi series brings Maria Chidzanja-Nkhoma back to life". Nation Online. Retrieved 2026-03-19.