Nine people were killed in a plane crash, including Chilima, the vice president of Malawi

President Lazarus Chakwera announced on Tuesday that nine people, including the former first lady Shanil Dzimbiri, and Vice President Saulos Klaus Chilima of Malawi perished in the accident of the military aircraft they were riding in.
Chilima, who was considered a possible contender for the presidency in the upcoming election, was on board the plane when it vanished on Monday.

I regret to notify you all that it has turned out to be an extremely tragic event. I am extremely saddened by this. The airplane was located close to a hill by the search and rescue team. “They discovered it entirely destroyed, with no survivors,” Chakwera declared in a speech to the country.

On Monday, the aircraft took off from the capital city of Lilongwe at 09:17 a.m. (07:17 GMT), but due to low visibility, it was unable to arrive at Mzuzu airport at 10:02 a.m. as planned.

Although it was told to return to Lilongwe, it vanished from sight and was inaccessible to aviation authorities.

According to Chakwera, every passenger on board perished instantly upon impact, and their bodies were being returned to the capital by the military.

“Despite the track record of the aircraft and the experience of the crew, something terrible went wrong with that aircraft on its flight back to Lilongwe, sending it crashing down and leaving us all devastated,” he claimed.

Online images revealed security and rescue workers at the accident site, which was a hillside. Debris was strewn all over the Dornier 228-202K military cargo plane’s tail, which still displayed the tail number MAF T03.

After taking part in the Korea-Africa summit on Sunday, Chilima, 51, returned from South Korea. On Monday morning, she was traveling with the other passengers to the north of Malawi to attend the funeral of the former justice minister of Malawi.

“Dr. Saulos Klaus Chilima was a good man, a devoted father and husband, a patriotic citizen who served his country with distinction, and a formidable vice president,” Chakwera stated.

Chilima led the United Transformation Movement party and was a previous director of Airtel Malawi (AIRTEL.MV), opens new tab. He formed the ruling Tonse Alliance alongside Chakwera, and he was his running companion for their 2020 triumph.

But before the 2025 presidential election, in which the vice president is anticipated to run against the president, relations between the two had grown acrimonious.

Chilima was detained in 2022 on suspicion of graft. But this month, a court dismissed the accusations against him in response to a notice of discontinuance filed by the director of public prosecutions. Chilima refuted any misconduct.