Saulos Chilima, Malawi’s Vice President in Missing Chopper Was to Vie for Presidency in 2025
Malawi’s Vice President Saulos Chilima was reported missing on Monday, June 10, along with nine others.
Did Chilima intend to run for the presidency?
Chilima had plans to contest in Malawi’s upcoming general elections next year.
His announcement to run for the presidency in 2025 reignited discussions about his eligibility.
According to Nation, his path to the presidency faced challenges due to corruption allegations.
However, a Malawi court dropped the corruption charges against him in May after the director of public prosecutions decided to withdraw the case.
Chilima denied any wrongdoing.
Where was Chilima’s plane expected to land?
On Monday, June 10, a military aircraft carrying Malawi’s Vice President Saulos Chilima and nine others went missing.
A statement from the president’s office indicated that the Malawi Defence Force aircraft vanished from radar after departing from Lilongwe, the capital.
ALSO READ:
- I have no blood on my hands, Ruto says on killed protesters
- Ruto Scraps Off Office of First Lady, Announces Firings in His Office
- Kenya To Borrow Ksh.1 Trillion After Finance Bill Rejection to Run Government
- Foreign Affairs PS Sing’oei Slams Gov’t Over Alfred Keter’s Abduction
- Kimani Ichung’wah Withdraws Land Laws Amendment Bill
The aircraft, carrying Chilima and nine others, failed to arrive at Mzuzu International Airport as scheduled at 10:02 a.m.
Malawi President Lazarus Chakwera launched a search and rescue operation after aviation authorities lost contact with the aircraft.
As a result, Malawi’s president had to cancel his scheduled trip to the Bahamas.
Iran’s President dies in plane crash
This incident occurred less than a month after Iran’s President Ebrahim Raisi died in a helicopter crash near Jolfa in East Azerbaijan province on Sunday, May 19.
Eight high-ranking officials, including Foreign Minister Hossein Amirabdollahian and Ayatollah Mohammad Ali Ale-Hashem, the representative of the Iranian supreme leader to the province, were also killed.
Despite the crash happening at 1 pm, locating the helicopter and its occupants was difficult, extending the rescue mission into the early hours of Monday, May 20.
Saulos Chilima, Malawi’s Vice President in Missing Chopper Was to Vie for Presidency in 2025