Citizen TV anchor Victoria Rubadiri on Saturday mourned the death of her grandfather Prof David Rubadiri.
Taking to social media, the journalist announced that the Malawian diplomat, poet, playwright and novelist had passed away.
In a tweet she stated; "This literary giant now rests. Prof. David Rubadiri breathed his last today, but his words continue to inspire so many across this great continent.
"His legacy is one I could never live up to. The name he gave me is one I will continue to carry with pride. Rest in peace Babu."
The late Rubadiri was 88 at the time of his passing.
Rubadiri attended King's College, Budo in Uganda from 1941 to 1950 then Makerere University in Kampala (1952-56), where he graduated from with a bachelor's degree in English literature and History. He later studied Literature at King’s College, Cambridge. He went on to receive a Diploma in Education from the University of Bristol.
At Malawi's independence in 1964, Rubadiri was appointed Malawi's first ambassador to the United States and the United Nations.
Rubadiri left the Malawian government in 1965 when he broke with President Hastings Banda.
As an exile, he taught at Makerere University (1968–75), but he was again exiled during the Idi Amin years.
He subsequently taught at the University of Nairobi, Kenya (1976–84), and was also briefly, along with Okot p'Bitek, at the University of Ibadan in Nigeria, at the invitation of Wole Soyinka. Between 1975 and 1980 he was a member of the Executive Committee of the National Theater of Kenya.
From 1984 to 1997 he taught at the University of Botswana (1984–97), where he was dean of the Language and Social Sciences Education Department.
In 1997, after Banda's death, Rubadiri has reappointed Malawi's ambassador to the United Nations, and he was named vice-chancellor of the University of Malawi in 2000. He received an honorary doctorate from the University of Strathclyde in 2005.
