Kamtambe,Lafiel Jasiel
Lafiel Jasiel Kamtambe was a prolific Malawian Presbyterian pastor, well known for his impactful sermons, development of church infrastructure, leadership roles in the Nkhoma Synod of the Church of Central Africa Presbyterian (CCAP), and contribution to theological education. He was born on September 8, 1935 at Chimoto, Njonja, Jadiel village, Traditional Authority Kachere in Dedza District, into a Chichewa-speaking Presbyterian family who were Ngoni by ethnicity. His father was Jasiel Kamtambe, a primary school teacher and evangelist, and his mother was Elesi Kamtambe. Together they had eight children, of whom Lafiel was fifth-born. In 1952 Lafiel married Evelyn Nanyoni Huwa Mandundu, a Yao woman who had earlier been his student at school. The couple had nine children: Lemione (who died at a young age), Alesi Egifa, Maxwel, Henry, Levison, Jacob, Miriam, Moses, and Blessings.
He completed his primary education at Mphunzi Mission School, gaining a Standard 6 certificate in 1952. He then went on to train as a carpenter at Mua Mission, and was awarded his carpentry certificate in 1955. For the next two years he was a student at the Nkhoma Teacher Training College, gaining his Primary School Teacher Certificate in 1957. He then embarked on a teaching career and was posted to Chadza at Msozi CCAP where he taught from 1957 to 1961.
While training in carpentry, he had a spiritual conversion experience and this led to a sense of calling into ministry while he was teaching at Msozi CCAP. He was selected for theological training by Nkhoma Synod and enrolled at the Nkhoma Theological College where he gained his Certificate in Theology in 1966. His appetite for academic study led him to enrol at Likuni Secondary School where he got his Junior Certificate in 1968 and Malawi School Certificate of Education in 1970. This enabled him to matriculate at the University of Pretoria in 1971 and to graduate with a Bachelor of Arts in Theology in 1974. He then spent time in Greece to strengthen his grasp of Greek and Hebrew.
He began his pastoral ministry at Mpando CCAP where he served from 1966 to 1971, combining the role with that of Director of Chongoni Church Lay Training Centre. He later returned to Mpando CCAP for another period of service from 1983 to 1987, following ministry at Mlanda CCAP and Machentche CCAP, as well as hospital chaplaincy work in Lilongwe. He complemented his pastoral ministry with spells of teaching Hebrew and Greek at Nkhoma Theological College (1974-1978) and Zomba Theological College (1987-1990). His last years were spent serving at Mvera CCAP (1989-1995) and Malingunde CCAP (1995-1998).
Kamtambe stands out in the history of Nkhoma Synod since he was its first black minister to gain a theological degree. He was elected Moderator of the Synod on three occasions, with a memorable period in this role from 1980 to 1987. He also had several spells of service as an actuary of the Synod and played a leading role in the missionary outreach that led to the establishment of the Mphatso Synod in Mozambique.
He had a vision for the development of church infrastructure, building churches at Mtchentche and Mvera, as well as manses at Mpando and Malingunde. He also led the construction of many new out-stations (prayer houses). When missionaries from abroad would come to visit, he was the one assigned to escort them as he was fluent in English and often familiar to the visitors. He loved door-to-door visitation as he went around to visit congregation members in their homes. He was always ready to be called upon to lead a funeral service, regardless of the status of the person who had died. He wrote the Nkhoma Synod order of worship and contributed in the writing of the book of practice and procedure as well as to the composition of the daily devotional guide Mlozo.
Kamtambe became a celebrated preacher, one of the best-known in Malawi. He is remembered for his oft-repeated slogan cheni pakalanka (“do not depart from the word of God or from the truth”). Another of his frequent slogans is kontho ndi kontho (“despite strong evangelistic messages still some will choose not to repent”). Particularly well remembered is his sermon on Proverbs 27:22 about Chtsirumtondo (though you grind a fool in a mortar, grinding him like grain with a pestle, you will not remove his folly from him).
Kamtambe had no record of illnesses and enjoyed robust health. When he was at Mvera, however, he began to suffer and a local individual confessed to having poisoned him. He pled with his children not to take revenge but to leave the matter in the hands of God. He died at Malingunde on December 21, 1998 and was laid to rest at his home village Jadiel in Dedza District. He is remembered as one of the outstanding leaders of Nkhoma Synod during its first post-missionary generation.
Leonard Hara
Bibliography
Kamtambe, Blessings. Interview by author, Lilongwe CCAP, May 30, 2024.
Zeze, Rev. Dr Willy. Interview by author, Nkhoma Museum, June 15 2024.
This article, submitted in December 2024, was researched and written by Leonard Hara, minister of Malingunde congregation in the Church of Central Africa Presbyterian Nkhoma Synod, under the supervision of Professor Kenneth R. Ross as one of the requirements of the Church History course on the MTh in Contextual Theology at Zomba Theological University.
