‘He died 20 seconds after prayer’ — ex-senator Zwingina’s son recounts last moments with father

Kabrh  Zwingina, son of former senator Jonathan Zwingina, has recounted the last moments he shared with his father.

Zwingina, who represented Adamawa south from 1999 to 2007, died on October 3 — few weeks after his 70th birthday.

Speaking on Wednesday at the First Baptist Church in Garki, Abuja, Kabrh said Zwingina died in a hospital after a pastor prayed for him.

“I want to give a testimony about his last moments.  I called Reverend Tom and said we should meet at the hospital,” Kabrh said.

“When we got there, we felt things were off. So, he (Reverend Tom) led us in prayers of salvation, and forgiveness. Right after that, barely 20 seconds later, my dad passed.”

Jerry Gana, former minister of information, described the deceased as a man of vision and excellence.

“This is a very shocking departure. I spoke on that day (Zwingina’s birthday) on behalf of friends and colleagues, not knowing our dear friend would leave us so soon,” he said.

“Senator Zwingina lived a life of tremendous impact, a life of integrity. He was always ahead of his colleagues with his tremendous capacity to think and lead with initiative.”

Ken Nnamani, a former senate president, said Zwingina’s sharp memory earned him the nickname ‘Encyclopedia’ during his time in the upper legislative chamber.

“I found Zwingina to be someone with impeccable memory. He was the Ronaldo, or if you like, Messi, of the Constitutional Amendments debates,” Nnamani said.

”He has a knack of remembering things. His departure is a big loss to Adamawa state and the entire country.”