The government of Malawi has confirmed the untimely death of Vice President Dr. Saulos Klaus Chilima.
The Office of the Presidency confirmed the tragedy on Tuesday afternoon after the completion of the military search for the missing helicopter that was transporting the vice president.
Malawi security forces, including the army and police, embarked on a mission to find the missing helicopter on Monday.
The helicopter, belonging to the Malawi Defence Forces, had left the capital Lilongwe at 09:17 hours local time. However, after failing to make its scheduled landing at Mzuzu International Airport at 10:02, the country was sent into a panic.
Debris of the helicopter crash
With efforts by the Malawian Aviation Authorities to make contact with the helicopter proving futile, President Lazarus McCarthy Chakwera ordered a rescue mission. The President also canceled his trip to the Bahamas as he ordered all regional and national security agencies to search for the missing helicopter.
However, this rescue mission ended in tragedy as the aircraft was found on Tuesday morning in the Chikangawa forest. The mountainous forest is located north of the capital Lilongwe.
On board the aircraft were Vice President Dr. Saulos Klaus Chilima and nine others who have been confirmed dead.
This latest helicopter crash is the second in as many months within the Sub-Saharan region.
In April, Kenya’s then Chief of Defence Forces Francis Ogolla was killed in a helicopter crash. Ogolla was traveling alongside other army officials when their chopper crashed in Kaben, Marakwet East.
Who was Dr. Saulos Klaus Chilima?
Born in February 1973, Dr. Saulos Klaus Chilima attended school in his native Malawi. He then attained a degree in social sciences at the University of Malawi, Chancellor College in 1994. Chilima wasn’t done with the University of Malawi as he would return to pursue a master’s degree in Knowledge Management in 2006.
After securing the master’s degree, he went to the University of Bolton where he achieved a PhD in Knowledge Management.
In July 2018, Chilima launched his transformation movement called United Transformation Movement (UTM) to boost his bid in the 2019 general elections. Although the 2019 polls were nullified, Chilima and his running mate Dr. Michael Usi came third with 20.24% of the popular vote, winning 4 seats in the national assembly.
However, when the 2020 polls came, he teamed up with Lazarus Chakwera of the Malawi Congress Party and ousted incumbent Peter Mutharika.
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