Saulos Chilima: Malawi’s Vice President, Handpicked by the Business World

Malawi’s Vice President Saulos Chilima has died aged 51 when a military plane he was flying crashed in the country’s northern forests.

He was initially recruited from the business community to the second-highest position in government under former President Peter Mutharika and served as Vice President for two terms for a total of nine years.

As a politician, he was seen as having a special connection with the people, especially the young people.

He had a very persuasive manner, he dressed fashionably and at times he spoke like a member of the younger generation.

Bayana Chunga, a journalist in Malawi’s commercial capital Blantyre, told the BBC’s Africa Daily podcast that he was “a hugely attractive figure among young people” and positioned himself as “a handsome, athletic and committed young leader”.

Dr Chilima campaigned in public, sometimes doing push-ups on his campaign podium and even taking part in golf tournaments as a player.

“In many ways he was a symbol of young people participating in politics and governance in Malawi,” Chunga said.

Within the government he was described as a “performer” and a “workaholic”.

But in some ways he may also have been defined by his role as a central figure in a string of corruption allegations in his government.

First as an accuser, then as an accused.

Before becoming Vice President in 2014, Dr Chilima served as a director of Airtel Malawi, the country’s leading telecommunications company, and was the first Malawian to head the organisation.

Dr Mutharika was reported as saying he was partnering with “trusted and productive” individuals.

But four years later, Dr Chilima is at odds with the president, accusing the government of not doing enough to fight corruption and protect some people.

Under Malawi law, the president cannot dismiss the vice president, and Chilima has ignored calls to step down despite openly challenging the government he leads.

He later formed his own political party, UTM, calling for radical change and reform in the country.

He ran for president as the party’s candidate in 2019 and came in third.

Mutharika won the election, which was subsequently annulled by Malawi’s Constitutional Court due to widespread fraud.

It was the first time in Africa that an election result had been overturned by a court and a sitting president subsequently defeated in a re-election.

Dr Chilima teamed up with Lazarus Chakwera as his running mate in the historic 2020 polls.

Dr Chakwera, who came second in a discredited 2019 poll, was overwhelmingly elected president, with Dr Chilima as vice president.

But the vice president himself will soon find himself facing corruption allegations that he vehemently opposed during the previous administration.

He was arrested in 2022 on charges he accepted money in return for influencing the award of government contracts, charges he denies.

The president fired the other official who was named along with him.

Since Dr Chakwera could not remove the Vice President, he promised not to entrust Dr Chilima with any official duties during the trial.

Journalist Chunga said when Dr Chilima was accused of corruption it was “a huge disappointment for the youth who supported him and the nation at large”.

But the charges were dropped last month, raising questions about the handling of the corruption case.

Prior to his political career in Malawi, Dr Chilima held senior positions in the corporate sector, including with Coca-Cola bottling company in Malawi and Unilever.

He was an economist and had a PhD in knowledge management.

During his time in government, he was also minister for economic planning and public sector reform.

On the government website he is described as a “performer”, a “workaholic” and an “achiever”.

He was seen as a leading contender in next year’s presidential election.

Felix Njawala, spokesman for Dr Chilima’s UTM party, said Dr Chilima inspired many with the hopes he had for the country.

He described the vice president as a “very intelligent” and “very strong” person who also inspired him.

“He was an inspiration to so many of us. We lived the dream he had,” he told the BBC.

Dr Chilima was born on 12 February 1973 in Blantyre but his family is from Ntcheu district in central Malawi.

He is survived by his wife, Mary, and two children, Sean and Elizabeth.