Malawi’s Vice President Dr. Saulos Chilima dies with his wife and eight other people in a plane crash

Johannesburg — Malawi Vice President Dr Saulos Chilima and nine others, including his wife, were killed when the plane they were travelling in crashed in the Chikangawa mountains, the government said on Tuesday. President Lazarus Chakwera declared Tuesday a national day of mourning.

This was announced in a statement issued by the Office of the President and Cabinet on Tuesday morning, which said: “Regrettably, all persons on board were killed in the crash,” which occurred on Monday morning after the military aircraft took off from the country’s capital, Lilongwe.

Chilima and the other passengers were on their way to the funeral of the country’s former attorney general when their plane disappeared from radar. Air traffic control officials said the plane had been unable to land at Mzuzu airport, about 320 kilometers north of the capital, due to poor visibility and the pilot had been advised to return to Lilongwe when the flight disappeared.

Chilima, 51, was considered a possible candidate in Malawi for next year’s presidential elections.

He is a somewhat controversial figure and was arrested in 2022 on corruption charges after reports that he received bribes from a businessman for government contracts.

Chilima denied the charges until last month, when prosecutors dropped them and filed a motion to dismiss the case.

In a televised address to the nation on Monday evening, Chawera told the nation that the search and rescue operation would continue until Chilima’s plane was found.

“I know this is a heartbreaking situation,” he said, “and we are all scared and worried.”

Several countries, including the United States, provided technological support for the search operation.

In a statement posted on social media on Tuesday morning, the U.S. Embassy in Lilongwe expressed “deep concern at the news of the crash” and offered “all available assistance, including a Department of Defense C-12 aircraft.”