06/05/2023
JAMES MWAPE A REMARKABLE MAN
By Eugene Makai
Zambian-born American and co-founder of the Mwape Peer Awards, James Mwape, has died in Cherry Hill, New Jersey in the United States aged 60.
He died on 22nd April, 2023 at his home in New Jersey.
Mr. Mwape an Educator, Entrepreneur and Author was born in 1962, in Mwense district, in the Luapula Province of the then Northern Rhodesia.
His journey took him from a humble village school to Poland and China as a student before relocating to the United States of America with his then newly wed wife Ruth in 1991. Mrs and Mrs Mwape were married for 33 years having first met in Lusaka, Zambia upon his return from studies in China in 1990.
An Educator, he taught Chemistry and Biology in New York, New Jersey and Pennsylvania Public Schools for seven (7) years after which he joined the financial sector in New York’s insurance industry at Metropolitan Life Insurance Company (MetLife), America’s largest insurance company. After nine years at MetLife he joined Chase Manhattan Bank which later merged with JP Morgan.
He was the Business and Finance Manager for the E-ZPass Group for five (5) years and CFO for Massnet Innovations.
In 2010, he and his wife Ruth co-founded the Mwape Peer Awards, an annual event recognising Zambian individuals who, without the benefit of visibility or influence, made a difference through their creativity, energy and sheer tenacity. The scope of the awards was later in 2014 widened to include Africans both in and outside the diaspora.
He was very engaged on social media and is an author of at least four (4) books.
He held an MSEd, an MBA in Banking and Finance and BSc in Biology.
Mr. Mwape is survived by his wife Ruth and three children Natasha, James Jr., and Simon.
A truly remarkable person, Mr. Mwape will be missed by many.
