Malawi President Lazarus Chakwera has announced a 21-day mourning period commencing Tuesday in honour of Vice President Saulos Chilima who died in a plane crash on Monday.
Chakwera also directed that all flags be flown at half-mast throughout the mourning period.
“Further details regarding funeral arrangements will be communicated in due course,” Secretary to the President and Cabinet Colleen Zamba said in a statement.
Chilima died alongside nine officials on board a military plane near Chikangawa, Mzimba.
The Malawian Defence Force said the aircraft 'went off radar' after it left Lilongwe on Monday morning.
The plane had left the capital Lilongwe at 9.17am but failed to make its scheduled landing at Mzuzu International Airport at 10.02am.
Chilima first became Vice President on May 30, 2014.
On June 28, 2020, he was sworn in for his second term.
Chilima was the first Malawian to head Airtel Malawi, the leading mobile telecommunications company in the southern African country.
Before venturing into telecommunications, he held senior sales marketing positions in the banking sector and the fast-moving consumer goods sector namely the Leasing and Finance Company, Unilever Malawi, Coca-Cola and Carlsberg.
Chilima was married and leaves behind two children.
