Four Killed, Twelve Injured as Vehicle in Malawi Vice President’s Saulos Chilima’s Funeral Convoy Collides with Mourners
Four people tragically lost their lives and twelve others were injured when a vehicle in the funeral convoy of Malawi’s late Vice President Saulos Chilima collided with mourners in a village on Sunday night, Malawi police reported.
The incident occurred in Ntcheu village in central Malawi as the convoy was en route to Nsipe, Chilima’s home village located 180 kilometers south of the capital Lilongwe.
According to a police statement, the vehicle, part of a motorcade comprising military, police, and civilian vehicles, struck a group of pedestrians, resulting in severe injuries to four individuals who later succumbed to their wounds while receiving treatment.
Police spokesperson Peter Kalaya confirmed that an additional twelve people sustained injuries in the accident.
Eyewitnesses described a chaotic scene as the vehicle maneuvered through a crowd that had gathered to pay their respects to the late vice president.
Felix Njawala, spokesperson for Chilima’s party, acknowledged tensions along the route as mourners sought to view the coffin, with incidents reported where some individuals blocked the convoy or threw stones.
Njawala emphasized the need for peace, urging supporters to maintain calm during the funeral proceedings.
He also mentioned that the party had called for an investigation into the plane crash that claimed Chilima’s life, which occurred earlier in the week when a military aircraft crashed into Chikangawa Forest amid dense fog, killing Chilima and eight others on board.
President Lazarus Chakwera, speaking during a public viewing of Chilima’s body at a stadium in Lilongwe on Sunday afternoon, echoed the demand for an independent inquiry into the accident involving the military aircraft.
Chakwera expressed the public’s desire for clarity on the circumstances surrounding the crash and emphasized the need for transparency in the investigation.
The plane, a Malawi Army Air Wing Dornier 228-202K, had reportedly encountered bad weather while attempting to land in Mzuzu and was redirected back to Lilongwe before disappearing and subsequently crashing in the forest.
