[3] Malinga was raised in the Methodist Church of Southern Africa from a young age.

Malinga attended the Indaleni Methodist Institution, where she studied education, and became trained to be a schoolteacher.

[3] With encouragement from a local pastor, Reverend Raymond Khumalo, Malinga then decided to pursue ordained ministry in the Methodist church.

FEDSEM was an ecumenical seminary that prepared students, primarily from Anglican, Congregationalist, Methodist, and Presbyterian churches, for the ministry.

The school was known for fostering both an ecumenical spirit among the students, and an awareness of social justice issues.

[1] In 1999, she was elected as a bishop, becoming the first woman to hold this role in the Methodist Church of Southern Africa.

[3] She later served as director for the Methodist Church of Southern Africa's Education for Ministry and Mission Unit for three years, from 2016 to 2019.