Advertisement

Malawi's Vice President, a "devout Catholic", among 10 Confirmed Dead in Plane Crash

By ACI Africa Staff

Lilongwe, 11 June, 2024 / 5:26 pm (ACI Africa).

The Vice President of Malawi, Saulos Chilima, and nine others have been confirmed dead in a plane crash.

President Lazarus Chakwera confirmed the death of the 10 on Tuesday, June 11, a day after the military aircraft that left Malawi's capital city, Lilongwe, en route to Mzuzu airport went off the radar.

“I’m deeply saddened, I’m sorry to inform you all that it has turned out to be a terrible tragedy. The search and rescue team has found the aircraft near a hill... they have found it completely destroyed with no survivors,” President Chakwera said.

He added, “Despite the experience of the crew, something terrible happened to that aircraft, sending it crashing down and  killing everyone on board.”

The President paid tribute to Dr Chilima, saying, “He was a good man, a patriotic citizen. It was an honor to have him as my deputy in the past four years.”

Advertisement

“I understand this feeling because I feel them too. It is important that we comfort each other now and the weeks to come as we mourn together,” the President said.

The late Vice President, 51, was on his way to represent the government at the burial of former government minister Ralph Kasambara, who died four days ago.

The military aircraft carrying Mr. Saulos Klaus Chilima and nine others failed to make a landing Monday morning, according to a statement from the Secretary to the president and cabinet, Colleen Zamba.

Earlier, the Secretary General of the Episcopal Conference of Malawi (ECM), Fr. Valeriano Mtseka described the late Vice President as a “devout Catholic.”

Following the tragedy, Malawians on social media have been praying for the safety of the vice president and the other nine.

More in Africa

Kenya

“We’re heartbroken”: Catholic Archbishop after 18 Boys Perish in Dormitory Inferno in Kenya’s Nyeri Archdiocese

Read the article

“We have lost our beloved vice president of Malawi. May he rest in peace. He loved the church. Very active and humble,”  Fr. Edmond Nyoka said in a tweet.

Born in February 1973, Dr. Chilima is a Ngoni from Ntcheu District in Central Malawi. He is married to Mary and together they have two children.

Dr. Chilima is a Roman Catholic with leadership positions in the church.

ACI Africa Staff

ACI Africa was founded in 2019. We provide free, up-to-the-minute news affecting the Catholic Church in Africa, giving particular emphasis to the words of the Holy Father and happenings of the Holy See, to any person with access to the internet. ACI Africa is proud to offer free access to its news items to Catholic dioceses, parishes, and websites, in order to increase awareness of the activities of the universal Church and to foster a sense of Catholic thought and culture in the life of every Catholic.

Trending

You may also like

An external view of the Chapel of the Ascension on the Mount of Olives in Jerusalem during the procession of the Franciscan friars after the first vespers of the Ascension solemnity on May 8, 2024. The procession circled the chapel three times. / Credit: Marinella Bandini

Catholics Ascend to Mount Olives, Site of Jesus’ Ascension, Only Day They Can Use Chapel Currently Under Muslim Control

“I’m excited to have come to pray in the actual place of the Ascension... I want to be closer to...

With the incense burned from the newly blessed fire, Cardinal Pierbattista Pizzaballa, the Latin patriarch of Jerusalem, incenses the "Stone of Anointing," located at the entrance of the Basilica of the Holy Sepulcher, where, according to tradition, the body of Jesus was anointed and prepared with aromatic oils for burial. March 30, 2024. / Credit: Marinella Bandini

"The mother of all holy vigils": Jerusalem Basilica is First Place to Announce Easter

In the Basilica of the Holy Sepulcher, the church of the Lord’s resurrection, the Easter Vigil is held on Saturday...

Pope Francis' brief remarks during the Angelus July 21, 2024, focused on the day’s Gospel passage from Mark, which demonstrates how rest and compassion for others go together. / Credit: Vatican Media

Pope Francis: In the Silence of Adoration We Receive God’s Grace

At his weekly Angelus, the pope told Catholics to beware of “the dictatorship of doing.”