He was educated at Zomba Catholic Secondary School, then at the
University of Malawi where he earned a B.A and helped establish the
Malawi Writers Group. At the
University of Wales, he took a teaching diploma in
English as a Second Language. At
Columbia University in the
United States, he was awarded his M.A. and Ph.D. in teaching. After studying at
Leeds, England, Chimombo returned to Malawi to edit the literary bulletin
Outlook-lookout. He was a professor of English at
Chancellor College in Malawi and was considered one of the nation's leading writers. In 1988 his
Napolo Poems gained him honorable mention for the
Noma Award for Publishing in Africa. He was married to Moira Chimombo. The poet
Stanley Onjezani Kenani wrote the following appreciation of Chimombo: "Except for J.W. Gwengwe,
D.D. Phiri,
Jack Mapanje, and
Francis Chipasula, I cannot think of any Malawian who has contributed more to Malawian literature than Prof. Chimombo." == Death ==