Findings of a preliminary autopsy into the death of journalist Nomsa Mkandwire-Taulo on May 6 this year in Lilongwe show that she was poisoned.

Nomsa died hours after she arrived in the country for a holiday from South Sudan where she was working for the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) as communications analyst.

Died on May 6:
Mkandawire

The report, dated May 8 2023, says preliminary findings show the cause of death as acute poisoning.

“Final report awaits toxicological and histological examinations,” reads part of the report stamped by pathologist Dr. Charles Dzamalala.

In an interview on Wednesday, Nomsa’s uncle Mylord Jere said the family is disappointed and shocked with her alleged poisoning.

He claimed that her arrival in the country, sudden illness and death were ‘suspiciously’ not communicated to the family.

Said Jere: “I learnt about the death via social media and when I got to her house in Area 6 [in Lilongwe], I found strangers. I expressed my dismay and demanded to know what happened. I was heartbroken.

“We were not notified my niece was ferried to the hospital. I inquired from one of her nannies and she told me she fell ill after eating nsima and nkhwani [pumpkin leaves] that she [the maid] prepared. No one else ate the food, but Nomsa. Her husband simply dropped her off at home and left.”

But in a separate interview yesterday, Nomsa’s husband Paul Taulo said everything happened “in a flash” for him to process.

He said: “I called Nomsa’s sister in Blantyre and the one we lived with who was at work. I also called her mother, too. These were my points of contact.

“Nomsa arrived in sound health and did not complain of anything. We got home and everything was normal in terms of our interactions, but I had a few things to do in town so I left.”

Taulo said Nomsa even sent him a text message asking him to get her a take away chicken pack on his way back.

He said she also later called him when she noticed his husband was offline.

“Minutes after we talked, I was called that she was unwell. I rushed home and found her in bad shape. I rushed her to the hospital where she was pronounced dead on arrival,” Taulo said.

He said he was yet to see the preliminary report, but one of Nomsa’s family members told him that her vital organs were said to have been normal, but her stomach had red spots.

Nomsa previously worked for Malawi Broadcasting Corporation as well as Save the Children before securing the UNDP job.

She was laid to rest at HHI Cemetery in Blantyre.

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