THE burial of Malawi’s Vice-President Saulos Chilima, who tragically died in a plane crash on Monday, will be held on July 17, the government announced.
Chilima, along with eight others, was flying towards a northern town when the military aircraft they were on disappeared from airport radars due to bad weather. The wreckage was found on Tuesday in dense forests and hilly terrain, with no survivors.
Information Minister Moses Kunkuyu confirmed on Wednesday that Chilima will be buried at his home in Nsipe, in the southern Ntcheu region, following a state funeral in his honour. Former First Lady Patricia Shanil Dzimbiri, also among the victims, will receive full military honors at her burial on Friday.
An independent postmortem will be conducted on the bodies before the funerals, the government announced. President Lazarus Chakwera has declared 21 days of national mourning, ending on July 1, to honor Chilima and the other victims.
In a show of respect, members of the UN Security Council observed a moment of silence for Chilima on Wednesday before a meeting on North Korean human rights abuses.
