Late Minister Magande’s alleged daughter, Namweemba, seeks DNA test to prove she’s heir, demands share of estate

eemba Bianca Magande has told the Lusaka High Court that she was ready to undergo a DNA test to prove she is the biological daughter of the late former Finance Minister Ng’andu Peter Magande, even if it required the exhumation of his remains.

The 38-year-old filed a lawsuit last year against the administrators of the late minister’s estate — Simwaale Magande, Joyce Mudenda, and Nakanjoli Magande — demanding recognition as a rightful heir. She claims her entitlement has been ignored since letters of administration were issued on February 20, 2024.

In her court filings, Namweemba rejected all challenges to her paternity, stating:

“I am ready to undergo a DNA test provided the same is done with samples from the remains of the late Ng’andu Magande.”

Her case is supported by her maternal uncle, Sakubita Singongolo, who testified that Namweemba’s mother revealed in 2012 that the late minister was her father.

He added:

“After her mother died, our late uncle Saboi Sichimba was sent to ask the late Magande to take responsibility for his daughter, but he never came.”

Singongolo also recounted a tense episode during the funeral, stating that Namweemba was excluded from all burial programmes and that efforts by some relatives to discuss intestate succession were dismissed by the widow and children.

“I thereafter mentioned that the best way to close the issue was to conduct a DNA test between Namweemba and the remains of the late Magande, but this proposition infuriated the late Magande’s other children, and they mentioned that they had already chosen an administrator,” he testified.

Namweemba also submitted that on July 3, 2021, during a meeting at the Victim Support Unit in Lusaka, the late Magande — accompanied by Samuel Kanchelo — allegedly acknowledged her as his daughter and promised six months’ rent and household goods.

However, she said she never visited her father’s home because she feared how his wife and other relatives would treat her.

Namweemba is now seeking a full inventory of the estate, equitable distribution among all beneficiaries, and reimbursement of legal costs, citing violations of the Intestate Succession Act.

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