Malawi: Minister of Information and Digitalisation in the government of Malawi, Moses Kunkuyu has shared the update regarding the burial of Vice President Dr Saulos Chilima. Vice President Chilima, who died in a plane crash while travelling from Lilongwe to Mzuzu be will be laid to rest on Monday.
The funeral service will be hosted at Nsipe in Ntheu. The people of the country will be able to pay their respects to the deceased statesman and honor his memory during the public funeral.
The Vice President, at the time of the accident, was accompanying a cohort of 9 other officials from the defence forces and the government. Minister Nkukuyu made the announcement on Wednesday during a press briefing at Capital Hill in Lilongwe.
“The body of late Chilima will be collected from the mortuary on Friday to St. Patricks Catholic Parish in Area 18 for mass. Thereafter, it will be taken to the official residence of the Vice President in Area 12,” he said.
He said the late Vice President Saulos Chilima will lie in state at Area 12 from Friday to Saturday thereafter a funeral ceremony, which will be open to the public, will be held at Civo Stadium in Lilongwe on Sunday.
Later the body will be taken to Ntcheu.
The Minister also disclosed that President Chakwera has directed that the Former First Lady, Madame Shanil Dzimbiri’s funeral should be conducted with full military honours and it will be taken to her home in Balaka on Thursday.
“As per requirement after any accident, autopsies will be carried out on all the deceased bodies excluding the body of Lapukeni who has already been laid to rest today and it will be done by private practitioners with the Government’s full support,” said Nkukuyu.
Malawi Defence Force Chief of Staff Joint Headquarters, Major General Saiford Mandiza Kalisha, said an internal investigation on the circumstances surrounding the plane accident that claimed the lives of the Vice President, the crew and rest of the delegation has been instituted.
“The investigation will commence on June 13 and we believe that it will be concluded within 10 days,” he said.