On April 5, 2012, Malawi lost a sitting President for the first time in the history of the country. A dark cloud hung above the country.
There were rumours, shortly after midday, that President Bingu wa Mutharika, had collapsed at State House in Lilongwe, and had been rushed to Kamuzu Central Hospital for medical attention. As the day progressed, most Malawians knew that their President had died.
This is why we are focusing on the shameful utterances by Democratic Progressive Party secretary general, Grazeldar Jeffrey.
What she said yesterday was out of line, shameful and unfounded.
We take this stand because we know that on June 1, 2012, the then President Joyce Banda, appointed a Commission of Inquiry to inquire into all aspects surrounding the death of President Bingu wa Mutharika.
The commission chaired by Justice Elton Singini was tasked to look into the death as well as the issues of transition of State power following the President’s death.
The inquiry examined the evidence that the Commission heard on the aspect of the death of the President.
Several testimonies were examined and the Commission highlighted the key evidence relevant to the death.
They tackled the evidence by following the sequence of events, which were considered as evidence, from the time that the President fell ill at State House to the time that the President’s body was brought back from South Africa and to the time it was buried.
The Commission also received evidence on the issue of the prophesy by T.B. Joshua about the death of an African President.
It also examined the prevailing political and economic conditions in the country during that period.
The Commission established that the events that were taking place in the country prior to Bingu wa Mutharika’s death such as the general political and economic situation, impending demonstrations and calls for him to resign exerted so much pressure on him.
The Commission established that the President had a history of having suffered a heart attack in 2009, described as minor.
The Commission established from the submissions of two of the country’s senior medical specialists, Professor Jack Wirima and Professor Johnstone Kumwenda, and from the testimony of Professor Liomba that a person with such history is prone to suffer repeated irregular heart conditions.
Therefore the Commission concluded from the evidence before it that the President died of cardiac arrest due to cardiac arrhythmia (irregular beating of the heart).
This why we find Jeffrey’s accusations repugnant, abhorrent and embarrassing to the whole presidency.
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