CITIZENS ANGRY AT MALAWI GOV'T RESPONSE TO V.P. CRASH

Some Malawians say lives could have been saved if the government had quickly responded after a 10 June plane crash that killed Vice President Saulos Chilima, former First Lady Shanil Dzimbiri and eight others. The rescue team instead reached the wreckage the following morning.

According to President Lazarus Chakwera, all those aboard the military’s Dornier 228 aircraft died after it dove into a forest in the country’s mountainous north. The flight had attempted to head back to the capital, Lilongwe, after poor weather prevented a landing at Mzuzu Airport.

Chilima, 51, joined politics in 2014 when he served as vice president to Peter Mutharika. However, the two men fell out when Chilima accused Mutharika of not doing enough to fight corruption.

In 2018, Chilima formed a political party, the United Transformation Movement (UTM), running for president in 2019 and placing third.

In 2020, he joined forces with Chakwera to defeat Mutharika, placing Chilima in the vice presidential seat again.

However, in November 2022, police arrested Chilima on a claim that he had received a bribe from a UK-based Malawian businessman. Some saw the charges as an attempt to stop Chilima from running against his boss in the 2025 presidential elections. Then, last month, a judge discontinued the case.