Malawi's vice president and nine others killed in plane crash

A plane carrying Malawi’s Vice President Saulos Klaus Chilima crashed in a dense forest, killing Chilima and all nine other passengers, Malawi’s President Lazarus Chakwera said in an address to the nation on Tuesday.

The plane disappeared from radar early Monday, but search and rescue efforts were hampered by foggy weather around the Chikangawa forest, authorities said.

“I am deeply saddened and regret to inform you that this is a terrible tragedy,” Chakwera said. “The search and rescue team found the aircraft… completely destroyed, there are no survivors as all passengers on board perished on impact.”

Chilima was considered a likely candidate for next year’s presidential election, where he could run against Chakwera.

Chilima was on board a military plane that took off from the capital Lilongwe at 9:17 a.m. local time, bound for the city of Mzuzu, 400 kilometers to the north. Chilima was to attend the funeral of a prominent lawyer on Monday. Among the seven passengers was former First Lady Shanil Dzimbiri, the ex-wife of former President Bakili Muluzi. Three members of the military crew were also on board.

Air traffic controllers lost contact with the pilot shortly after issuing a warning not to land in Mzuzu because of the fog. Before the wreckage was found, Chakwera said he contacted neighboring countries as well as the governments of the United States, Britain, Norway and Israel, asking for help, which included “specialized technologies” to assist the search and rescue mission. More than 600 search parties gathered in the area to search for the crashed plane.

US Embassy “deeply saddened”

The US embassy in Lilongwe said it had offered “all available assistance,” including the deployment of a Department of Defense C-12 aircraft.

“The U.S. Mission to the Republic of Malawi is deeply saddened by the news of the plane crash that killed Vice President Saulos Chilima and his nine traveling companions on Monday,” the embassy said in a statement. “Our thoughts and prayers are with the Vice President’s family and friends, as well as those of the accompanying victims, during this difficult time.”

Who is Saulos Klaus Chilima?

Chilima, 51, was arrested in 2022 on corruption charges. He is accused of accepting payments to influence the awarding of government contracts. A court dismissed the charges last month after the attorney general filed a motion to dismiss the case. Chilima denied any wrongdoing.

Chakwera described Chilima, 51, as a patriotic citizen who “has served his country with distinction.”

Chilima, a married father of two, served as vice president from 2014 to 2019. He came third in the 2019 presidential election, but the result of that election was annulled by a Malawian court. He then ran as vice president for Chakwera in the 2020 election.

Malawi’s President recently flew by plane

The aircraft, operated by the Malawi armed forces, was a German-built Dornier 228 model with twin propellers that was delivered to the Malawi army in 1988, the Associated Press reported. Chakwera said he had flown on the plane recently and that the aircraft and crew had completed successful flights as recently as Monday. Chilima’s political party, the United Transformation Movement — not the president’s party — said the plane did not have a transponder and criticized the government’s slow response.

Where is Malawi?

Malawi, a landlocked country in southeast Africa with about 20 million inhabitants, is one of the poorest countries in the world. It borders Zambia, the United Republic of Tanzania and Mozambique..

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