By Malawi will bid a final farewell to its late Vice President, Saulos Chilima, on Monday, as he is laid to rest in his home district of Ntcheu, located 180km south of the capital, Lilongwe. The 51-year-old Chilima, along with 8 other individuals, including the ex-wife of the former Malawian President, tragically died when a twin-propeller aircraft crashed in a hilly, forested area during bad weather.
On Saturday, a state service was held to pay tribute to the late vice president, led by the country’s President Lazarus Chakwera. Officials from Chilima’s United Transformation Movement political party, which is different from the president’s party, criticized the government’s response as slow and raised concerns about the absence of a transponder on the plane, considering it was carrying a high-level delegation.
Chilima and Chakwera had led Malawi under unusual circumstances. Both ran for president in 2019 as opposition candidates but joined forces to challenge the election results in court over irregularities. They emerged victorious, marking the first time in Africa that a court-overturned election result led to the defeat of an incumbent president.
Prior to his passing, Chilima had stated that Chakwera had agreed to step down after his first term, allowing Chilima to run for president in next year’s election as part of their alliance. However, Chakwera announced his intention to run for reelection, indicating signs of friction between the two leaders.
Chilima had also recently faced corruption charges over allegations that he received money in return for influencing the awarding of government procurement contracts for the armed forces and the police. The charges were dropped by prosecutors last month, and Chilima had denied the allegations.
The late vice president had just returned from an official visit to South Korea on Sunday. He was serving his second term as vice president, having previously held the position from 2014 to 2019 under former President Peter Mutharika.
The search for the crashed plane prompted an international response, with President Chakwera stating that the U.S., the U.K., Norway, and Israel had offered assistance and provided “specialized technologies.” The U.S. Embassy in Malawi confirmed their assistance and offered the use of a Department of Defense small C-12 plane. Malawi also sought help from its neighbors, Zambia and Tanzania.
Malawi, a nation of approximately 21 million people, was ranked as the fourth poorest country in the world by the World Bank in 2019. The tragic loss of Vice President Saulos Chilima has left the nation in mourning, as it grapples with the aftermath of the plane crash and the challenges that lie ahead.
