Malawi's Vice President Saulos Chilima Killed in Plane Crash

The military plane carrying 51-year-old Chilima and nine others went missing on Monday after failing to land in Mzuzu due to bad weather and was instructed to return to Lilongwe, the capital.

Malawi's Vice President Saulos Chilima died in a plane crash, confirmed President Lazarus Chakwera on Tuesday, after search teams discovered the wreckage in a foggy forest. The military aircraft carrying the 51-year-old vice president and nine others vanished on Monday when it was unable to land in Mzuzu due to poor weather and was directed to return to Lilongwe.

"The search and rescue team discovered the plane completely destroyed, with no survivors; all passengers were killed on impact," President Chakwera announced in a national address. He added in his televised speech on Monday that the plane was scheduled to land at Mzuzu airport at 10:02 a.m., but poor visibility forced it to return to the capital.

Aviation authorities lost contact with the aircraft after it went off radar. Malawi's information minister noted that the country sought assistance from Angola's space agency to locate the plane.

Chilima, considered a potential candidate for next year's presidential election, was arrested in 2022 on corruption charges. However, a Malawi court dropped the charges last month after the director of public prosecutions moved to discontinue the case, with Chilima denying any wrongdoing.