By Chisomo Phiri
The body of Abdul Lapken, one of the deceased in the plane crash involving vice president Dr.Saulos Chilima and seven others, is expected to be laid to rest this afternoon in Mangochi District.
Late Lapken, who was working as the Deputy Chief of Protocol in the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, will be laid to rest in line with Islamic burial rites.
Multitudes have already gathered at his home village, Chapola, which is under Senior Chief Chimwala, as they await his remains.
By Chisomo Phiri
President Dr.Lazarus Chakwera has constituted a ministerial committee to oversee the state funeral of Vice President Saulos Chilima and eight others who were killed in a military plane crash near Chikangawa Forest in Mzimba on Monday June 10,2024.
According to Minister of Information and Digitalisation Moses Kunkuyu, the committee, which is chaired by Minister of Justice Titus Mvalo and other 10 cabinet ministers will co- opt United Transformation Movement (UTM) and Malawi Congress Party (MCP) Secretary Generals(SGs) Patricia Kaliati and Eisenhower Mkaka respectively.
He says the other committee members are Harry Mkandawire Minister of Defence; Michael Usi Minister of Natural Resources; Simplex Chithyola Banda Minister of Finance; Nancy Tembo Minister of Foreign Affairs; Khumbize Kandodo Chiponda Minister of Health; Richard Chimwendo Banda Minister of Local Government; Ken Zikhale Ng’oma Minister of Homeland Security; Vera Kamtukule Minister of Tourism; Moses Kunkuyu Minister of Information and Jacob Hara Minister of Transport and Public works.
The late Chilima was expected to attend the burial ceremony of the former Minister of Justice and prominent lawyer Raphael Kasambara in Nkhata Bay on Monday.
But the military plane carrying him and eight others could not land at Mzuzu Airport due to bad weather.
On return to Lilongwe, the aircraft crashed near Chikangawa Forest where he and eight others perished .
Meanwhile, the burial arrangements for the departed souls will be announced in due course.
By Dean Chisambo
Minister of Tourism, Vera Kamtukule has said there is need for collaboration between the government and the private sector to promote tourism industry across the country.
Kamtukule made the remarks on Monday when she presided over a full Lab on Tourism meeting in Lilongwe.
She hailed the country’s president for lifting up entry visa fees for travelers from 79 countries, which is the crucial step for betterment of tourism industry.
She said :”Our role is to make Malawi easy accessible because at the moment it is expensive and difficult due to the air connectivity issues.”
On her part Deputy Secretary to the President and Cabinet (DSPC) who is also head of Presidential Delivery Unit (PDU), Dr. Janet Banda said the Tourism Lab will give opportunity to both the public and private sectors to collaborate and unlock the bottlenecks that are preventing growth.
She noted that the lab will likely result in the tourism industry propelling Malawi’s economic transformation.
Banda said :”However as we analyze these issues, let us remember that we need to be encouraged by our unique strengths in addressing the challenges that appear to be insurmountable.”
The Tourism Lab event which will take four days delegates are expected to tackle issues concerning Infrastructure development, legal policy framework and product development and marketing in the Tourism industry.
By Durell Namasani
The initial programme for FIFA President Gianni Infantino in Malawi has been revised with most of activities that were scheduled for Wednesday June 12, being cancelled following the tragic death of the Dr Saulos Klaus Chilima, Vice President of the Republic of Malawi, and eight others.
Infantino arrived in the country on Tuesday evening for an official visit and was welcomed by FAM President Fleetwood Haiya at the Kamuzu International Airport in Lilongwe.
According to a statement released by FAM, the FIFA President is expected to pay his solemn homage to President Dr. Lazarus Chakwera, the bereaved family and the nation at large.
Infantino is also expected to have a meeting with Haiya and FAM Executive Committee before flying out to Zambia later in the day.
Meanwhile, Super League of Malawi (SULOM), has also postponed all TNM Super League matches until further notice as the country enters into 21 days of national mourning.
By Chisomo Phiri
President Dr.Lazarus Chakwera has directed that the nation observes a period of 21 days of mourning commencing today, Tuesday June 11, 2024 to Monday July 1,2024 in honour of the late vice president Saulos Chilima and eight others who died in a tragic plane crash on Monday June 10, 2024 near Chikangawa Forest in Mzimba District.
A statement signed by the Secretary to the President and Cabinet Colleen Zamba adds that the president has also directed that all flags be flown at half-mast throughout the mourning period.
“Further, regarding the funeral arrangements will be committed in due course, reads the statement in part.
Vice-President Chilima had been enroute to Mzuzu from Lilongwe, with plans to proceed to Nkhata Bay for a funeral ceremony of the late Ralph Kasambara.
Unfortunately, bad weather forced the plane, a Malawi Defence Force(MDF) aircraft, to attempt a return to Kamuzu International Airport(KIA) in Lilongwe, during which communication was lost and the aircraft crashed.
Following a search and rescue operation, the wreckage was found near Chikangawa Forest on Tuesday, and it was confirmed that there were no survivors.
Other individuals in the plane were Lucas Kapheni, Chisomo Chimaneni, Shanil Dzimbiri, Dan Kanyemba, Abdul Lapukeni, Colonel Sambalopa, Major Selemani and Major Aidin.
Saulos Chilima, United Transformation Movement (UTM) party, was known for his previous affiliation with the Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) and contested in the 2019 elections as a presidential candidate.
After legal challenges, the 2019 elections were nullified, and Chilima formed an electoral alliance with the Malawi Congress Party(MCP) together with other parties.
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