Minister of Transport and Public Works Mohammed Sidik Mia and Minister of Local Government Lingson Belekanyama have died of Coronavirus.
The Government has confirmed the deaths of the two ministers who were also members of the ruling Malawi Congress Party.
Belekenyama will be buried later today at Chimphwanya Village, TA Masula in Mitundu, Lilongwe while burial arrangements for Mia will be announced later.
Mia who was born in 1965 was also a businessman and Vice President of the ruling Malawi Congress Party (MCP).
He was elected as Member of Parliament for Chikwawa-Nkombedzi constituency in May 2004 and served as deputy minister in the Bingu wa Mutharika administration between 2005 and 2009.
He served as Minister of Transport from 2010 to 2012 when Mutharika died. Mia then joined the People’s Party under President Joyce Banda in 2012 where he also served as minister until 2014.
In the run-up to the now nullified 2019 elections, he joined MCP and became its Vice President. He was appointed Minister last year after Chakwera became president
“Mr. Mia’s contribution to Malawian politics in the last six years was nothing short of phenomenal,” said social commentator Onjezani Kenani in a Facebook post.
Meanwhile, President Lazarus Chakwera will address Malawians at 3pm amid calls for tougher measures following the rise in Coronavirus cases.
Former President Peter Mutharika has since expressed sadness over the deaths of the two Cabinet Ministers and has sent condolences to Chakwera, the entire Cabinet, the bereaved families and Malawi as a whole.
Mutharika, in a message posted on Facebook, said it is important for people in the country to hold hands in these difficult times as we are passing through.
“Let me at this time suggest to the leadership and my fellow citizens, that we make the necessary tough decisions that can save ourselves and our nation. Above all, we pray to God for his healing hand and mercy to take us through this trying period,” said Mutharika.
