Malawi’s vice president, Saulos Chilima, died at the age of 51 after a military plane he was flying crashed in a forest in the north of the country.
He was vice president for a total of nine years during two terms, initially under former president Pedro Mutharikawho chose him from the business sector for the second most important position in the government.
As a politician, he was seen as having a special connection with people, especially young people.
He was very convincing in his behavior, elegant in his clothes and sometimes spoke like a member of the younger generation.
He was a “very magnetic figure among young people” who positioned himself as a “handsome, athletic and dedicated young leader”, Bayana Chunga, a journalist from Malawi’s commercial hub Blantyre, told the BBC. Africa Daily Podcast.
Dr Chilima exercised in public, sometimes doing push-ups on campaign podiums and participating in golf tournaments as a player.
“In many ways, he was the symbol of youth participation in politics and governance in Malawi,” said Mr Chunga.
In government, he was described as an “artist” and “workaholic”.
But in some ways, he was perhaps also defined by being at the center of accusations of government corruption.
First as the accuser and then as the accused.
Before Dr Chilima became vice president in 2014, he was the managing director of the country’s leading telecommunications company, Airtel Malawi, the first Malawian to head the organization.
Dr Mutharika was quoted as saying that he was partnering with a “trustworthy and productive” person.
But four years later, Dr Chilima fell out with the president, accusing the government of not doing enough to combat corruption and protect some people.
Under Malawi law, the president cannot fire the vice president – Dr Chilima defied calls for his resignation despite publicly challenging the government he was in.
He later formed his own political party, UTM, calling for radical changes and reforms in the country.
He ran for president in 2019 as the party’s candidate and came in third place.
Mr Mutharika won the elections, but these were later annulled by Malawi’s Constitutional Court due to widespread irregularities.
It was the first time in Africa that the result of an election was annulled by a court and then the incumbent president was defeated in a new contest.
Dr. Chilima joined as running mate to Lazarus Chakwera in the historic 2020 vote.
Dr Chakwera, who came second in the discredited 2019 poll, was resoundingly elected president, and Dr Chilima became his vice president.
But the vice president himself would soon face accusations of corruption, against which he had mobilized so much in the previous administration.
He was arrested in 2022 on allegations that he received money in exchange for influencing the awarding of government contracts – which he denied.
The president fired another official appointed alongside him.
As he could not fire the vice president, Dr. Chakwera promised that he would no longer delegate any official duties to Dr. Chilima while he faced trial.
Journalist Mr Chunga said “it was a huge disappointment for the young people who followed him and the nation at large” when Dr Chilima was accused of corruption.
But the charges were dropped last month – in a move that raised questions about the handling of corruption cases.
Prior to his role as a political heavyweight in Malawi, Dr Chilima held other senior positions in the corporate sector, including at the company that bottled Coca Cola in Malawi and at Unilever.
He was an economist and had a doctorate in knowledge management.
While serving in government, he was also the minister responsible for economic planning and public sector reforms.
The government website said he was an “artist,” “workaholic” and “an entrepreneur.”
He was seen as a possible candidate in the presidential elections scheduled for next year.
Felix Njawala, spokesperson for Dr Chilima’s UTM party, said he inspired many people with the hope they had in him for the country.
He described the vice president as a “very smart” and very strong person” who also inspired him.
“He inspired so many of us – we lived the dream he had,” he told the BBC.
Dr Chilima was born on 12 February 1973 in Blantyre, although his family comes from the Ntcheu district in central Malawi.
He is survived by his wife Mary and two children, Sean and Elizabeth.
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