Tinubu Mourns as Malawi Confirms Death of VP in Plane Crash

Deji Elumoye and Emmanuel Addeh in Abuja

President Bola Tinubu yesterday extended his condolences to his Malawian counterpart, Lazarus Chakwera, and the people of Malawi over the demise of Vice President Saulos Chilima and other top government officials in a plane crash.

The president, according to a statement issued by his Media Adviser, Ajuri Ngelale, commiserated with the families of the deceased over the  distressing incident, which happened on Monday, June 10, 2024.

Earlier, the wreck of a plane carrying the  vice president was found with no survivors, the president of Malawi, Chakwera announced.

Chilima and nine others were flying within the country when their aircraft disappeared from airport radars. The plane, a military aircraft, was flying in bad weather, BBC reported.

Soldiers had been searching Chikangawa Forest overnight and into the morning in an effort to find the plane.

 Tinubu assured the Malawian nation of Nigeria’s support during the period of mourning and prayed for the repose of the souls of the departed.

In a news briefing yesterday, the Malawian president said the Malawi Defence Force commander informed him that the search and rescue operation had been completed and the plane was found.

Chakwera said he was “deeply saddened and sorry” to inform Malawians of the terrible tragedy. He said the rescue team found the aircraft completely destroyed.

The vice president and president come from different parties but the two teamed up to form an alliance during the 2020 elections.

 Chakwera paid tribute to Chilima, describing him as “a good man”, “devoted father” and “formidable VP”. “I consider it one of the great honours of my life to have had him as a deputy and as a counsellor,” he added.

Chilima, 51, was on his way to represent the government at the burial of former government minister, Ralph Kasambara, who died four days ago.

Former First Lady Shanil Dzimbiri was also on the flight, which took off from the capital, Lilongwe, on Monday morning. It was meant to land at the airport in the northern city of Mzuzu, but was turned back because of poor visibility.

The military was transporting the remains of Chilima and the other victims to Lilongwe, the president said, adding that funeral arrangements will be announced in due course.

 Chilima had been vice president of Malawi since 2014. He was widely loved in Malawi, particularly among the youth, AFP news agency reported.

However, Chilima was arrested and charged in 2022 on allegations that he accepted money in exchange for awarding government contracts. He denied any wrongdoing.

Last month, the court dropped the charges, giving no reasons for the decision.  Chilima is survived by his wife, Mary, and two children, Sean and Elizabeth.

 The seven passengers also included members of Chilima’s staff and security detail. There were three crew members.

Air traffic controllers told the plane not to attempt a landing at Mzuzu’s airport because of bad weather and poor visibility and asked it to turn back to Lilongwe. Air traffic control then lost contact with the aircraft and it disappeared from radar.

Chakwera said the wreckage was found in the Chikangawa Forest south of Mzuzu. Images from the site showed thick fog over the hills and remnants of the plane in an open area near the tree line. The president described the aircraft as a small, propeller-driven plane operated by the Malawian armed forces.

Officials with Chilima’s United Transformation Movement political party — a party different from the president’s — criticised the government response as slow and said there was no transponder on the plane, concerning for an aircraft carrying a high-level delegation.

Chilima and Chakwera had led Malawi under unusual circumstances. They both ran for president in 2019 as opposition candidates but teamed up to challenge election results in court over irregularities, and won. They then won the rerun of the election — the first time in Africa that a court-overturned election result resulted in a defeat for the incumbent president.

Chilima had said Chakwera had agreed to step down after his first term and allow him to run for president in next year’s election as part of their alliance. However, Chakwera announced he would run for re-election, and there were signs of friction between the two.

Chilima had just returned from an official visit to South Korea on Sunday. He was in his second term as vice president after serving from 2014-2019 under former President Peter Mutharika.

The search for the plane prompted an international response. Chakwera said the US, the UK, Norway and Israel had offered assistance and provided “specialised technologies.” The U.S. Embassy in Malawi said it had assisted and offered the use of a Department of Defence small C-12 plane. Malawi also asked neighbours Zambia and Tanzania if they could help.