A vehicle in the convoy of Malawi’s late vice president’s funeral procession rammed into mourners in Ntcheu village on Sunday, June 16 killing four people and injuring 12.
The motorcade was transporting the body of Saulos Chilima, who died in a plane crash earlier this week.
The car, along with other military, police and civilian vehicles was headed to Nsipe, Chilima’s village, 180 kilometers (110 miles) south of the capital Lilongwe, in preparation for his burial on Monday, June 17 which has been declared a public holiday.
“Due to the impact the two female and two male pedestrians sustained severe head injuries and multiple fractures and died whilst receiving treatment” said a police statement.
Police spokesman Peter Kalaya said 12 more people had been injured.
Thousands of people had lined the streets to catch a glimpse of the vice president’s coffin.
An eyewitness stated that the vehicle plunged into the group as it attempted to maneuver away from the volatile crowd.
Representative for Chilima’s party Felix Njawala, noted that there was some tension along the route as mourners demanded the procession stop so they could view the coffin.
“In Dedza, people blocked the road and demanded to see the coffin, only when the convoy stopped were people pacified and the convoy was able to proceed, adding that in some instances people threw stones at the convoy.” Felix said
While he acknowledged that party supporters had questions, he urged them to maintain peace.
On Thursday, June 13 the party called for an investigation into the plane crash.
Chilima died on Monday, June 10 along with eight others when a military aircraft on an internal flight crashed into Malawi’s Chikangawa Forest in dense fog.
The wreckage of the plane was found on Tuesday, June 11.
His party, the United Transformation Movement (UTM), allied with President Lazarus Chakwera’s Malawi Congress Party (MCP) in the 2020 presidential election, fielding a joint ticket.
During a public viewing of the body at a stadium in Lilongwe on Sunday June 16, Chakwera called for an independent inquiry into the accident.
“People want to know how the plane carrying the Vice President and the others went missing and crashed.
“I too want to know what happened.” he said.
The plane, a Malawi Army Air Wing Dornier 228-202K, disappeared after it failed to land in the northern city of Mzuzu due to bad weather and was instructed to return to the capital.
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