MALAWI: VP Dead & more – 18th Jun 2024

Muli bwanji from BA! This is the Rorshok Malawi Update from the 18th of June twenty twenty-four. A quick summary of what's going down in Malawi.

Let’s kick off this edition with some updates on the death of Vice President Saulos Chilima, who died last Monday alongside nine others in a plane crash.

The government has been conducting funerals for the deceased since last week. The last funeral, for the late Chilima, was held on Monday the 17th in his home village in Ntcheu district. However, there have been multiple ceremonies across the country in honor of Chilima, including over fifteen masses and candle-light sessions, patronised by thousands of locals.

The candle-lighting sessions were held by youths in Lilongwe, Blantyre and Zomba on Saturday the 15th and Sunday the 16th.

Unfortunately, local news reported that three notable people also died in the accident. These were Shanil Muluzi, Owen Sambalopa and Flora Selemani Ngwinjili.

Muluzi was Malawi’s former First Lady. An email she wrote to her niece last year trended on social media. In it, she revealed her wishes for her funeral program, including details like the venue, service providers, her burial, speakers and even the times for those events. Her wishes were honored.

Sambalopa was a Colonel at the Malawi Defense Force and the pilot on the fateful day. Local media said he had a record of three thousand hours in the air.

Ngwinjili is remembered as Malawi’s first woman pilot in the Defense Force.

Soon after announcing the Vice President’s death on Tuesday the 11th, President Chakwera declared a national mourning period of twenty-one days, starting from Tuesday the 11th until the 1st of July.

On Saturday the 15th, the President also declared Monday the 17th as a public holiday to allow people to pay their last respects to the departed Chilima.

On Thursday the 13th, The Malawi Law Society released a statement reminding the President that it had to appoint a new Vice President in seven days, that is, by Wednesday the 19th, because the country’s Constitution requires that the Vice President’s role be filled seven working days after their death.

The move by the Law Society left a sour taste in people’s mouths, but they found solace in a new song by the R&B sensation Lulu, written as a tribute to Chilima.

Check it out with the link in the show notes.

The business sector was also impacted by the Vice President’s passing. For instance, the Tanzania-Malawi Trade and Investment Forum was cancelled.

On Wednesday the 12th, Andrew Kumwenda, the Malawi High Commissioner to Tanzania, announced the cancellation while giving a speech to delegates at a forum.

Other events, such as the Ufulu Festival, were postponed. The Festival was scheduled to take place on the 6th of July, which is when Malawi celebrates its independence from British colonial rule.

The Flames, the men’s national football team, also withdrew their participation in this year’s competition for the Council of Southern Africa Football Associations Cup, or the COSAFA Cup.

There are national fears of political unrest following Chilima’s death because many people believe that the government was slow to respond to the airplane crash. It took the executive four hours to announce the accident, and six hours to start searching for the aircraft after they reported it missing. Many people are angry with Chakwera and booed him at Chilima’s funeral processions.

On Thursday the 13th, the Defense Force released a statement warning locals from making sensational statements and creating conspiracy theories on social media that could pose a danger to Malawi’s national security. They said locals should consider this a stern warning, as they would not want to be seen as a “fighter of its citizens.”

They did not make any clarifications but it looked like the Defense Force would reprimand anyone who ignored the warning.

In brighter news, The World Bank, through its International Development Association, approved a thirty-five million-dollar grant to help Malawi deliver its Governance to Enable Service Delivery project. The project aims to strengthen local authorities’ institutional performance, their response to citizens, and their management of resources meant for service delivery.

Moving on, the Ministry of Health is getting ready to start delivering free mosquito nets to reduce malaria infections that plague the country during the summer, which typically starts around late August.

Doctor Samson Mandolo, the Principal Secretary in the Ministry, said they are planning to distribute twelve million nets that have been treated with mosquito-killing insecticide. They are targeting all districts. Mandolo also said the exercise will go on for nine months, to help the government achieve its goal of ending malaria by twenty thirty.

Records by the National Malaria Control Program show that, last year, Malawi registered 6.4 million malaria cases with 1,600 deaths.

In trending news, Telekom Networks Malawi (or TNM), one of the country’s leading mobile telecommunications providers, has been implementing a silent strategy to get its customers to pay back their loans.

TNM offers airtime loans to its customers, which can be used to make calls or purchase various bundles. However, users avoid paying these loans by buying their internet and voice bundles through TNM’s mobile money wallet. This way, they can still access TNM’s services while defaulting on their loan repayment. But TNM had enough.

Last week, TNM customers complained that when they bought a bundle, it turned into airtime to repay their outstanding loan. For instance, if you buy a weekly internet bundle worth two thousand Kwacha or about a dollar but you owe TNM one thousand Kwacha airtime, then TNM would convert your bundle into airtime to get their money back. T

Francis Dule, one of the country’s leading broadcasters, passed away. The Media Institute of Southern Africa – Malawi Chapter, announced Dule’s death on Wednesday the 12th on their social media pages. They said he died at Area 25 Health Center in Lilongwe, but didn’t say why. However, local news mentioned that Dule had a severe asthma attack on the night of Tuesday the 11th.

Dule’s influence in media can be traced in multiple media houses. He worked for radio stations such as Capital Radio Malawi and Galaxy FM and died while working as the Head of Programs at Linga FM.

Several broadcasters have since taken to social media to share their condolences.

On Thursday the 13th, the Reserve Bank of Malawi granted an operational license to PayChangu, a new financial technology solutions company.

Joshua Mwendo, the Global Expansion and Payments Manager at PayChangu, told local media that their payment gateway is designed to streamline financial transactions. Their goal is to make payments faster, more secure, and more accessible to all Malawians.

And for our last story, four inmates (all men) have been selected to pursue their degrees at Mzuzu University, the University of Malawi, and the Domasi College of Education. A fifth beneficiary is a woman who just finished serving her sentence. They will all be studying for different degrees.

Chimwemwe Shaba, the Spokesperson for the Malawi Prison Service, said that having a woman inmate selected to study at Mzuzu University was a feat that has never happened before in the Prison Services’ history.

Aaand that’s it for this week! Thank you for joining us!

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Pitani bwino!