THE BODY of murdered Malawian woman Rudo Mawere whose body was found in a bag in Dublin late last month, has been repatriated to her home country for burial.
The honorary consul for Malawi, Fr Patrick O’Malley, said a male relative of Ms Mawere yesterday travelled with the body to Malawi.
Her funeral is due to take place on Saturday in Blantyre in the south of the country.
A special ceremony of prayers and songs was held in the Solid Rock Church of God, Amiens Street, Dublin last night, to remember the young woman who was a member of the church.
Pastor Emmanuel Might said Ms Mawere’s death had been “very tough” for the Malawian community in Ireland and for members of the church, where the chief suspect in Ms Mawere’s death also worshipped before apparently taking his own life in England days after her death.
Elder Kunle Sodunke said the community were privileged to have known Ms Mawere and had come together last night to celebrate her life. “In this difficult time we stand together with the family of Rudo, we stand together with the Malawian community,” Mr Sodunke said.
“One of the things that actually brings people together, regardless of race, background, or where you come from, is death. And what do we do in death? We identify.
“It does not matter anymore where that person comes from whether you’re an African, a European, an American, whether you’re from Malawi, you are from Nigeria or you are from Ghana.
“We identify with this and we are grieving regardless of where the person comes from.”
The body of 26-year-old business student Ms Mawere was discovered in a luggage bag by a passerby at St David’s Terrace, Blackhorse Avenue, on the northside of Dublin.
Ms Mawere was fully clothed and had a plastic bag over her head when she was found, on January 29th. A postmortem examination showed she died from asphyxiation.
The chief suspect in the murder of Ms Mawere was found dead in England having apparently taken his own life.
Friends and colleagues of Ms Mawere have been collecting donations to help the bereaved family with the cost for the repatriation of Ms Mawere’s body back to Africa.
The fund remains open and anyone who wishes to donate to it can do so by contacting Fr O’Malley on 01 4960888.