By Wadza Botomani
President Arthur Peter Mutharika and the First Lady, Madame Gertrude Mutharika, hosted a state luncheon at the Sunbird Mount Soche Hotel in Blantyre on October 4th, following his inauguration as Malawi’s seventh President. The Vice President, Justice Dr. Jane Ansah, and her husband were also in attendance at the event, which was held for the foreign dignitaries who attended the swearing-in ceremony earlier at Kamuzu Stadium .
The inauguration ceremony was attended by a significant contingent of regional leaders, underscoring the event’s diplomatic importance. The confirmed international guests included Presidents Daniel Chapo of Mozambique, Duma Boko of Botswana, and Emerson Mnangagwaof Zimbabwe .
A high-level delegation from Eswatini was also present . The event also served as a display of national unity, with former Malawian Presidents Dr. Joyce Banda and Dr. Bakili Muluzi in attendance .
During his inaugural address, President Mutharika vowed to root out corruption and rebuild the country’s struggling economy, declaring that the “honeymoon of looting government is over” . He acknowledged that the nation is facing a crisis with acute food shortages, a lack of foreign exchange, and severe cost-of-living pressures . Outgoing President Lazarus Chakwera was notably absent from the ceremony, though his party conveyed a message of goodwill to the new administration .
