{"id":75673,"date":"2025-12-28T20:56:11","date_gmt":"2025-12-28T20:56:11","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/malawi\/all-news\/nico-group-condoles-families-of-artists-lost-in-tragedy"},"modified":"2025-12-28T21:08:17","modified_gmt":"2025-12-28T21:08:17","slug":"nico-group-condoles-families-of-artists-lost-in-tragedy","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/malawi\/all-news\/nico-group-condoles-families-of-artists-lost-in-tragedy","title":{"rendered":"Nico Group Condoles Families of Artists Lost in Tragedy"},"content":{"rendered":"

Africa-Press – Malawi. <\/strong><\/span>The NICO Group, which includes NBS Bank and Eris Properties, through its creative sector strategic partner, the Copyright Fund, has joined the nation in mourning five young musicians who died in a tragic road accident at Senzani in Ntcheu District on Friday, 26 December 2025.<\/b><\/p>\n

The victims, Vincent Mkwinda, Raphael Chitsonga, Elivacy Muyaba, Wilfred Kapengule Jnr, and MacFarlane Banda, were members of Eli Njuchi\u2019s Hive Band and were travelling to Lilongwe ahead of a scheduled performance when the accident occurred along the M1 Road.<\/p>\n

In a condolence message issued through the Copyright Fund, the NICO Group said it fondly recalls its recent interaction with the Hive Band during its family day event earlier this year, where the artists performed with distinction and professionalism.<\/p>\n

As part of its support, the Group has provided financial assistance of K1 million to each bereaved family to help with funeral arrangements.<\/p>\n

Copyright Fund Administrator Dora Makwinja said the Group deeply shares the grief being experienced across the country following the loss.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe NICO Group deeply shares the nation\u2019s grief following the tragic and untimely loss of these talented young artists. Through the Copyright Fund, we are offering financial support to assist the families during this difficult time. May the souls of our departed artists rest in peace,\u201d said Makwinja.<\/p>\n

Beyond the corporate sector, national leadership has also expressed condolences, with State President Arthur Peter Mutharika and Second Vice President Enock Chihana conveying messages of sympathy to the bereaved families, joining Malawians in mourning the loss of young lives.<\/p>\n

The tragedy has sent shockwaves through Malawi\u2019s music industry, with artists and fans describing the loss as devastating to live music in the country.<\/p>\n

The deceased musicians, drummer and sound engineer Raphael Chitsonga, guitarist MacFarlane Banda, road manager Vincent Mkwinda, pianist Wilfred Kapengule Jnr, and vocalist Elivacy Muyaba, were widely regarded as some of the most gifted instrumentalists of their generation.<\/p>\n

Award-winning musician Lawi described the incident as a dark day for the industry, while international artist Onesimus said Malawi had lost giants whose contribution to music would be deeply missed.<\/p>\n

Following the tragedy, Eli Njuchi cancelled a scheduled performance at the Bingu International Convention Centre (BICC) in Lilongwe, while other artists, including Lulu, also called off shows as the music fraternity paused to grieve.<\/p>\n

For More News And Analysis About Malawi<\/span> Follow Africa-Press<\/span><\/strong><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Africa-Press – Malawi. The NICO Group, which includes NBS Bank and Eris Properties, through its creative sector strategic partner, the Copyright Fund, has joined the nation in mourning five young musicians who died in a tragic road accident at Senzani in Ntcheu District on Friday, 26 December 2025. The victims, Vincent Mkwinda, Raphael Chitsonga, Elivacy […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":84,"featured_media":75672,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[2,12],"tags":[234],"class_list":["post-75673","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-all-news","category-policy","tag-malawi"],"yoast_head":"\nNico Group Condoles Families of Artists Lost in Tragedy - Malawi<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"The NICO Group, which includes NBS Bank and Eris Properties, through its creative sector strategic partner, the Copyr ...\" \/>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/malawi\/all-news\/nico-group-condoles-families-of-artists-lost-in-tragedy\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Nico Group Condoles Families of Artists Lost in Tragedy\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"The NICO Group, which includes NBS Bank and Eris Properties, through its creative sector strategic partner, the Copyr ...\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/malawi\/all-news\/nico-group-condoles-families-of-artists-lost-in-tragedy\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"Malawi\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:publisher\" content=\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/AfricaPressTunisiaa\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2025-12-28T20:56:11+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:modified_time\" content=\"2025-12-28T21:08:17+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:image\" content=\"https:\/\/static.africa-press.net\/malawi\/sites\/36\/2025\/12\/sm_1766956068.691735.jpg\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:width\" content=\"800\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:height\" content=\"533\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:type\" content=\"image\/jpeg\" \/>\n<meta name=\"author\" content=\"cfeditoren\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Written by\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"cfeditoren\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:label2\" content=\"Est. reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data2\" content=\"2 minutes\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\/\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"Article\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/malawi\/all-news\/nico-group-condoles-families-of-artists-lost-in-tragedy#article\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/malawi\/all-news\/nico-group-condoles-families-of-artists-lost-in-tragedy\"},\"author\":{\"name\":\"cfeditoren\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/malawi\/#\/schema\/person\/068c7ab4e9634ae78ec5d54ec46598bb\"},\"headline\":\"Nico Group Condoles Families of Artists Lost in Tragedy\",\"datePublished\":\"2025-12-28T20:56:11+00:00\",\"dateModified\":\"2025-12-28T21:08:17+00:00\",\"mainEntityOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/malawi\/all-news\/nico-group-condoles-families-of-artists-lost-in-tragedy\"},\"wordCount\":400,\"commentCount\":0,\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/malawi\/all-news\/nico-group-condoles-families-of-artists-lost-in-tragedy#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"https:\/\/static.africa-press.net\/malawi\/sites\/36\/2025\/12\/sm_1766956068.691735.jpg\",\"keywords\":[\"Malawi\"],\"articleSection\":[\"all news\",\"policy\"],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"CommentAction\",\"name\":\"Comment\",\"target\":[\"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/malawi\/all-news\/nico-group-condoles-families-of-artists-lost-in-tragedy#respond\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/malawi\/all-news\/nico-group-condoles-families-of-artists-lost-in-tragedy\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/malawi\/all-news\/nico-group-condoles-families-of-artists-lost-in-tragedy\",\"name\":\"Nico Group Condoles Families of Artists Lost in Tragedy - 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