Lilongwe, Malawi – President Lazarus Chakwera is set to meet Pope Francis in Vatican City for the first time, just two months after the tragic death of Vice President Saulos Chilima in a plane crash last June.
The government has yet to confirm whether President Chakwera’s visit is directly connected to Chilima’s death last June. However, the timing has raised a fury of speculation.
Chilima was a devout and practicing Catholic.
Following his death, the Catholic Bishops in Malawi called for a thorough investigation amid ongoing allegations of foul play. During Chilima’s funeral, His Grace Archbishop Thomas Luke Msusa of the Archdiocese of Blantyre openly voiced the Church’s concerns over the circumstances surrounding the Vice President’s death. The archbishop noted that “several questions” about the plane crash remained unanswered.
The Catholic Church in Malawi also suggested Chilima as a candidate for sainthood. While acknowledging that the process of sanctifying someone as a saint typically takes about five years, Archbishop Msusa urged the Church in Vatican to consider an early assessment of Chilima for possible canonization.
Barely a month after the tragic accident, the Catholic Bishops of Malawi, Zambia, and Zimbabwe also met with President Chakwera. Discussions of their meeting were kept under wraps.
Meanwhile, several Catholic Churches across the region and globally have held memorial masses in honor of Chilima.
The plane crash on 10 June 2024 in Chikangawa Forest claimed 10 lives. Victims include former First Lady Patricia Shanil Zimbiri Muluzi, another devout Catholic devout.
This upcoming Vatican meeting marks the first time President Chakwera will meet with the Pope. It is also the first time Chakwera is visiting the Vatican.
President Chakwera’s trip to the Vatican also coincides with his visit to Germany, the country that officially conducted the investigation into the fatal accident involving the Malawi Army’s Dornier jet.
The government of Malawi has remained silent on whether both trips are linked to Chilima’s death.
In unrelated news, Catholic bishops in Malawi have been criticizing Chakwera, stating that under his leadership, the country is witnessing a “glaring failure of leadership.” Chilima was considered a strong contender against Chakwera in the 2025 Malawi presidential elections.
In a Facebook post, former President Joyce Banda likened Chilima’s death to previous assassinations and unexplained deaths of people holding dissident views during the era of the Malawi Congress Party. Banda said Chilima’s death evoked memories of the infamous Mwanza murder.
“In 1983, four Ministers and an MP were abducted and slaughtered like chicken in Mwanza in the forest. I was old enough to witness…this time around!!! Losing nine people Eeeeish. The majority of them I have known. Most painful for me is the death of my son Saulos and my sister-in-law Shanil Patricia A Nadzimbiri”, said Banda.
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