Malawi Vice President Saulos Chilima was laid to rest in his home village south of the capital on Monday, following a state funeral where President Lazarus Chakwera called for an independent investigation into his death in a plane crash.
Chilima and nine others perished in a plane crash last week in Malawi’s northern Mzimba region.
The state funeral took place at Bingu National Stadium in Lilongwe on Sunday, with President Chakwera and other dignitaries paying their final respects to the late vice president.
Hundreds of soldiers, police officers, and forest rangers had searched for over 24 hours before locating the wreckage in a forest plantation south of Mzuzu.
The plane had been on a short flight from Lilongwe to Mzuzu when it disappeared last Monday morning.
Chakwera noted that air traffic controllers had advised the plane not to land in Mzuzu due to bad weather and poor visibility, instructing it to return to Lilongwe. However, contact with the plane was subsequently lost.
The military honored Chilima with a 19-gun salute as his body was laid to rest, followed by a trumpet post and reveille.
Among those who laid wreaths were President Chakwera, all three of Malawi’s former presidents, and Chilima’s wife, children, and relatives.
The Chilima family also called for an independent investigation into the crash.
