Sleep well, our beloved Dr Margaret Nyirenda-Meme

Dear Tingasiga:
When members of “The Class of ‘77” gathered for a reunion in Kampala during the weekend of November 10-12, 2017, it was a celebration of shared lives and our collective triumph of simply being alive 40 years after our graduation from Makerere Medical School.

It was a weekend of reminiscing, of serious dialogue, of collective planning and of plenty of laughter. The great sense of humour that had seen us through tough years at medical school was still intact, only enhanced by experience, middle age and extensive travels around the globe.
Among us was Dr Margaret Nyirenda-Meme, our beloved sister from Malawi, who had flown in from Nairobi, the place she had called home for over 40 years.

She had joined Makerere University Medical School with us on a WHO scholarship in 1972, but had been forced to transfer to the University of Nairobi Medical School in 1976 because of the deteriorating security situation in Uganda. Yet, in her words, she had always considered herself a Makererean. We certainly claimed her as ours, a full member of the Class of ’77.

Three days before the reunion, Margaret had captured our collective excitement through a note she had posted on our WhatsApp group: “Congratulations to all those who will make it to Kampala after 40 years apart,” she wrote. “It reminds me of the children of Israel’s 40 years in the wilderness. This class of ’77 reunion is so symbolic to all of us, whether one comes physically or not. It is a great milestone for all of us. Looking forward to meeting you face to face my brothers and sisters.”

When we finally met, Margaret, like everyone else, was the picture of health, and was so obviously happy to be with her brothers and sisters.
The quiet, shy young lady with a beautiful smile that we had first met in July 1972, was now cracking jokes, speaking a few lines of heavily accented Luganda and reminding us of long forgotten events and acts of youthful mischief that were etched in her memory.

She brought us Parker pens, special for the reunion, and asked us to get them embossed with our names. She endorsed our plans to organise material and other support for our old medical school and expressed her hope that there would be another reunion, attended by our colleagues who had not been able to travel from their corners of the world.
When we said our goodbyes on the afternoon of Sunday, November 12, 2017, we were feeling rejuvenated and already anticipating another reunion.

On the night of December 30, 2017, Margaret, as healthy, joyful and vibrant as ever, sat down in her living room in Nairobi to watch TV, while singing praises to the Lord. She had spent the day preparing for a new-year’s eve get together with her family.
Sometime between 00:30am and 5am that night, Margaret entered into eternal sleep, her Earthly life ended by a silent and painless blood clot that had stealthily travelled from her leg to her lungs. News of her death was devastating. It is still difficult to believe that our beloved sister, she who was so full of life and encouragement to all of us, is gone from us forever. Yes, even doctors have trouble making sense of death. Our education and experience evaporate in the face of the death of a close relative or friend.

However, we are comforted by the knowledge that our Maggie is now in her glory, sitting among the saints in the presence of God. Margaret was a born-again Christian. And as Paul teaches us in 1 Thessalonians 4: 13-14, we do not grieve Maggie’s death as though we do not have hope. We know that those who have fallen asleep in Jesus Christ are alive in their glory and will rise again.
Furthermore, we give thanks to the Lord who lent her to us. It was an honour to know her as a classmate, a great colleague and a friend. She served humanity with love and an infectious joy.

Margaret, who was born on November 27, 1950 to Edith and Maynard Nyirenda of Kaporo Karonga, Malawi, was predeceased by her husband, Prof Julius Meme, a distinguished Kenyan paediatrician with whom she had four children - two of them medical doctors, one a businessperson and one a pilot.
Prof Meme, who died on March 27, 2012, had a distinguished career in Kenya, where he headed the Department of Paediatrics at Nairobi University, served as managing director of Kenyatta National Referral Hospital, Director General of Health Services and Permanent Secretary, ministry of Health of Kenya.

He was effectively supported by Margaret, herself a specialist in female reproductive health. Margaret capped her academic career in 2015 with a degree of master of public health from Holland.
She is survived by her four children, her mother, now 96 years old, living in Malawi, and four of her siblings.
From the Class of ‘77 to Margaret’s children – Dr Muriuki Meme, Dr Nkatha Meme, Mwenda Meme and Kondwani Meme – our heartfelt condolences. Your mother was part of us. She is part of us. Always.

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