Malawi to observe 21-day mourning, hold state funeral for late vice president Chilima

Malawi’s President Lazarus Chakwera has announced 21 days of national mourning after the wreckage of the small military plane carrying the late Vice President Saulous Chilima, a former first lady and seven other passengers was discovered by authorities on Tuesday (11 June).

Chilima and eight others were killed on impact after the twin propeller aircraft crashed due to bad weather and poor visibility in the country’s northern hilly, forested region. The Malawi government said later on Wednesday (12 June) that the late vice president will be honored with a state funeral to be held after the 21 days of national mourning, during which flags will fly at half-staff across the southern African nation. The president has appointed a ministerial committee to oversee preparations for Chilima’s state funeral, with the date yet to be announced.

The plane was carrying Chilima, members of his staff, former first lady Shanil Dzimbiri, and three military crew members on a short flight from the capital, Lilongwe, to the northern city of Mzuzu to attend a funeral of a former government minister when it went missing Monday (10 June). Hundreds of soldiers, police officers and forest rangers searched for more than 24 hours until Tuesday before the wreckage was found in a forest plantation south of Mzuzu. The remains of the victims were later brought back to the capital city on a Zambian Air Force helicopter.