Saulos Chilima, the vice president of the East African state of Malawi, has died in a plane crash. President Lazarus Chakwera said on Tuesday that the military plane carrying Chilima and nine other people, which had been missing since Monday, had been found in a forest area north of the capital Lilongwe. There are no survivors in the completely destroyed machine. Chakwera spoke of a terrible tragedy and praised Chilima as an exemplary politician and person.
Chilima and his companions set out from Lilongwe on Monday morning but never reached their destination. Due to poor weather conditions, the air control authority advised a return to Lilongwe shortly before the scheduled landing. Shortly afterwards, contact with the pilots was lost and the aircraft disappeared from radar. The cause of the accident was still unclear on Tuesday. “Something terrible has happened to this plane,” said Head of State Chakwera, who had only recently flown aboard the ill-fated plane.
On the way to the funeral
Chilima wanted to attend the funeral of a former government member in Mzuzu, about 370 kilometers from Lilongwe. Shanil Dzimbiri, former first lady of Malawi, was also on board the plane.
The charismatic Chilima was first elected vice president of the Southeast African country in 2014. He was considered universally popular in Malawi, especially among the youth. However, he was removed from office in 2022 and arrested on corruption charges during his second term.
Last month, a court dropped the charges and Chilima resumed his official duties. The 51-year-old wanted to stand as a candidate for the September 2025 elections.
Source: Krone
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