Thread by @TVandenbosch

A fish has died in #Zambia.
Not just any fish, but a special fish.
A very special fish!
A fish called #Mafishi (meaning "Big Fish" in the local Bemba language)
[a thread 1/n]

#Mafishi was a good luck fish.
It lived in a pond at #Zambia's second-biggest university, Copperbelt University (CBU).
For the past two decades CBU students have believed the fish would bring them good luck in exams.
[a thread 2/n]

#Zambia's President Edgar Lungu @EdgarCLungu
has joined the nation in mourning the death of #Mafishi.
The news got international media coverage.
bbc.com/news/world-afr…
[a thread 3/n]

The Minister of Higher Education thanked the President for his commitment to restocking the pond where #Mafishi lived all those years after the conclusion of the review in the circumstances of how Mafishi died.

https://twitter.com/HonMushimba/status/1303322366945230850

[a thread 4/n]

The British high commission in Zambia came to the rescue : "RIP #Mafishi but not all is lost. Zambians you can apply for a #Chevening scholarship & attempt to see the #Mafishi equivalent the #LochNessMonster if you study at @ThinkUHI"

https://twitter.com/UKinZambia/status/1303261921987252224

🤣😅😂
[a thread 5/n]

Students in #Zambia paid their last respects to #Mafishi 😭💔 through singing the national anthem for their hero 🐡

https://twitter.com/CBUmoma/status/1303288849947295744

[a thread 6/n]

The Alumni Association at #UNZA (another uni in Zambia) jokingly said that their Vet dept had dispatched a team to aid in preparation of #Mafishi's remains for burial ...... or lunch🤭

https://twitter.com/Khal_Salohcin/status/1303014705653600263

[a thread 7/n]

#Lusaka Province Minister & Member of Parliament for Kabushi Constituency Hon. Bowman Lusambo @BowmanLusambo said he actually fell in love with #Mafishi 💕

https://twitter.com/BowmanLusambo/status/1303239435803385856

[a thread 8/n]

The influential farmer/entrepreneur Mwila C. Macasa @Prof_Chisanga made a nice tribute to #Mafishi

https://twitter.com/Prof_Chisanga/status/1303301006156083202

[a thread 9/n]

Restaurants in #Zambia have joined in the mourning and are not selling any fish meals in honor of the passing of #Mafishi

https://twitter.com/KEG_Coppersmith/status/1303283191978045442

[a thread 10/n]

Copperbelt University's School of Medicine also joined in the mourning of #Mafishi through a tribute song
facebook.com/10000476292200…
[a thread 11/n]

And here's Zambia National Broadcasting Corporation @MYZNBC 's coverage of #Mafishi's life:
[a thread 12/n]