Malawi’s president confirmed dead

Rumours speculating the death of Malawi president, Bingu wa Mutharika, have been confirmed by the government in a brief statement from the cabinet on Saturday morning.

The president suffered a heart attack on Thursday in the capital, Lilongwe. He was immediately taken to the hospital, but after two hours of attempted resuscitation Mutharika was pronounced dead.

The early demise of the president means the country is now under the governance of the vice-president, Joyce Banda, who is expected to lead the country until 2014, the year Mutharika’s term was due to end.

The succession, however, is questionable as Mutharika favoured his brother over Banda as an apparent heir, having kicked her out of the ruling party. This move generated anger amongst the public, who saw the move as an attempt to hold the power along with his efforts to restrain media.

Many people believe the delay in the confirmation of the president’s death by the government was the result of an ongoing dispute in the cabinet on who would take over the reign until the end of the late president’s term.

Rajeeb Gurung