Malawi Vice President's Plane Still Missing After 24 Hours, Country Seeks Help from Neighbors

Malawi has called for assistance from neighboring countries in the search for a missing aircraft carrying Vice President Saulos Chilima and nine other people. The plane has been unaccounted for over 24 hours, the government announced on Tuesday.

Vice President Chilima was traveling on a Malawi Defense Force aircraft that departed from the capital, Lilongwe, at 9:17 a.m. Monday. The flight was headed for Mzuzu, a city in the north, but it missed its scheduled landing and disappeared from radar. Aviation authorities have since been unable to establish contact with the aircraft.

The vice president was on his way to attend the funeral of former attorney general Ralph Kasambara. Severe weather conditions in Mzuzu reportedly prevented the plane from landing, according to Lucky Sikwese, an aide in the vice president’s office.

"The Civil Aviation Authority has confirmed that it has not landed at any of the airports," Sikwese said. Despite extensive search efforts, no potential crash site has been identified. As of Tuesday evening, military and police officers continued their search efforts by vehicle and on foot, struggling to navigate the thick forests in northern Malawi, local media reported.

In response to the ongoing situation, President Lazarus Chakwera has deployed a comprehensive search and rescue operation that includes both national and regional agencies. The government has officially requested assistance from neighboring countries to bolster the search efforts. President Chakwera also canceled a planned trip to the Bahamas to personally oversee the rescue mission.

Vice President Chilima, 51, had a successful career in telecommunications before entering politics a decade ago. In late 2022, he was implicated in a corruption scandal and was arrested by the Anti-Corruption Bureau on charges of receiving kickbacks in exchange for government contracts. Chilima denied the allegations, which tarnished the government's commitment to combating corruption. Last month, all charges against him were dropped.

Chilima was expected to run for the Malawian presidency in the 2025 election. Once political rivals, President Chakwera and Vice President Chilima formed a coalition in 2019 after a contested election. They successfully challenged the results, and a judicial panel ruled in their favor, leading to their victory in a subsequent vote in 2020 on a unified ticket.

The search continues, with the hope that regional cooperation will enhance efforts to locate the missing aircraft and its passengers.