‘The best president Malawi never had’
Saulos Klaus Chilima (1973 – 2024)
Golden Matonga in Lilongwe
News of the vice-president’s death in a plane crash brought an outpouring of public grief unlike anything Malawi has experienced before. No one else transcended Malawi’s traditionally tribalbased and region-based politics in the way that Saulos Chilima did. Strongest among the young, urban population, his appeal also held sway in rural areas.
Having deputised two presidents – first Peter Mutharika, and then Lazarus Chakwera – it was widely believed that Chilima was destined to become head of state. That dream is dead, and with it the hope for a new kind of politics in Malawi.
A workaholic and policy hawk, Chilima was the technocrat face of the government. His reputation as a transformative leader dated back from his corporate days, when he held senior positions, including managing director for Airtel, the telecommunications firm.
Professor Blessings Chimsinga, who served as a minister in the cabinet alongside Chilima, recalled a hardworking colleague who focused on issues rather than personality politics.
“He managed to popularise the idea of building a Malawi that would work for us all, regardless of our position in society,” said Chimsinga.
In 2018, Chilima shocked the nation when he accused his boss, then-president Mutharika, of corruption. This cemented his image as an anti-corruption crusader. That image was further enhanced when he endorsed both street protests and legal action against electoral fraud in 2019, personally attending court sessions. A later corruption case levelled against Chilima was dismissed earlier this year.
Chilima was a devout Catholic and a father of two. His death leaves a void in his family, his party – where there is no clear successor – and the country as a whole.
“He was the best president this country will never have,” Khumbo Soko, his lawyer, told The Continent.