Mutharika’s delay not due to heart attack

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Peter Mutharika
Peter Mutharika
Mutharika; Not ill.

Widespread reports on social media are showing that Malawi President Peter Mutharika has suffered a heart attack, but this is just not true, if what Information Minister Malison Ndau said is anything to go by.

WhatsApp threads which we have seen claim that Mutharika’s delay to come back home after the United Nations General Assembly (UNGA) is because he came off to a heighted heart problem which he got diagnosed with when he was part of the world leaders that were at the summit.

The threads argue that this is the reason the Malawi leader has not returned home yet. But a story that Malawi24 carried quoting Information Minister Malison Ndau could actually mean the President is safe and not ill at all.

Ndau said the President is meeting stakeholders who will bring more opportunities to Malawi. He said the president is using the opportunity to market the nation to potential investors.

“It is wrong to say that the President is squandering taxpayers’ money because the long stay is for the betterment of this country,” said Ndau.

The minister however claimed that the day of Mutharika’s coming is not known but he expressed hope that the Malawi leader will be returning home soon.

The silence on the date of Mutharika’s return and his reported ill health reminds Malawians of the one that came when his brother the late President Bingu wa Mutharika when he breathed his last in April 2012.