Speaker of the National Assembly Dr Patrick Matibini says the late Kasenengwa PF member of parliament Victoria Kalima was a dedicated member of the House who would be greatly missed.

Speaking to journalists shortly after he visited the funeral house in Lusaka, Wednesday, Dr Matibini said the House was in sorrow, as it would greatly miss an active and committed member.

“Well, I must say, first and foremost, that this is a very sorrowful moment for the House, having lost one of its members. I must state that Honourable Victoria Kalima was a very active member of the House. She was a very committed member of parliament and so we, as a House, received her passing on with great, deep sorrow,” Dr Matibini said.

He added that the late Kalima was an active member of the back bench and was eventually appointed as Minister of Gender.

“Well, like I have indicated, it is always sad to lose one of the members of the House. We will greatly miss her contribution. She was, of course, as you may recall, a very active member of the back bench and was eventually appointed as Minister of Gender; the capacity which she served very well,” Dr Matibini added.

And the Speaker called on members of parliament to unite as they mourn their colleague.

“This is time to unite. We are one family and I hope that as we mourn her, we mourn her respectfully and give her a good send-off, Dr Matibini said.

Meanwhile, late Victoria Kalima’s elder sister Allinancy Banda said the family has lost a pillar.

“Victoria was the pillar of the family. Her demise just left us in confusion, and we do not know what we will do. She looked after the whole family and she was managing a big family until her death. She did not hesitate to help anybody so she was a pillar, like I said,” Banda said.

Kalima died at Lusaka’s Maina Soko Hospital on Monday after an illness.

She was born in 1972 in a family of seven and is survived by four children, two of which are adopted.