Mutharika died on way to hospital in Malawi April 5 -inquiry report
Former Malawi president Bingu wa Mutharika collapsed at 11.10 on April 5, 2012 in his office at the New State House (renamed Kamuzu Palace) and died minutes later before reaching Kamuzu Central Hospital (KCH), according to a report of the Commission of Inquiry set to establish the circumstances that led to his death.
The final report was presented to President Joyce Banda in the Capital Lilongwe on Wednesday.
President Banda established the inquiry to establish “the cause of death, medical attention available to the president at the time of his death and the role and activities of various individuals during and after the transition.”
The Malawi leader appointed Retired Justice Elton Singini as chairperson of the inquiry; Dr. Charles Dzamalala (pathologist); former Inspector General of Police, Joseph Aironi; Dr. Tionge Loga; Elizabeth Sibale; Father Joseph Mpinganjira; activist Brian Nyasulu; Esther Chioko and lawyer Jabbar Alide.
The report presented to the President indicates the findings that late Mutharika was dead when officials took him to South Africa to give an impression that he was still alive.
The issue of the exact death date of Mutharika has also been cleared. He died on April 5, 2012 and not on April 7 or 8 2012 as was said by the former ruling DPP.
Mutharika reportedly died while having a meeting with a Lilongwe legislator Agnes Penemulungu in his office. Penemulungu has never spoken in public about circumstances surrounding Mutharika’s collapse
Retired Justice Singini said Mutharika collapsed at State House in the Presidential audience room at around 11:10am and was taken into an ambulance rushing him to KCH.
“He died on the way to the hospital and that was within minutes of his collapse before the ambulance reached the hospital. The ambulance arrived at the hospital at about 11:25 am and the President was brought in dead,” Singini said.
Doctors at KCH made attempts to resuscitate him but he had already passed away, according to Singini.
“At around 2:30 pm, doctors at the hospital pronounced him dead and informed the authorities of that fact; The cause of death of President Bingu wa Mutharika was irregular beating of his heart at that moment of his collapse, called cardiac arrhythmia, which resulted in him suffering a cardiac arrest,” Singini added.
The report established that the cause of Bingu’s death was “irregular beating of his heart at that moment of his collapse, called cardiac arrhythmia, which resulted in him suffering a cardiac arrest.”
Late Mutharika had a history of heart attack, having suffered a minor heart attack in 2009, the report noted.
Singini , who said they interviewed a total of 123 witnesses,reported that his commission failed to get the post-mortem from Mutharika’s children after it was presented to them by a South African hospital.
Mutharika died at the lowest ebb of his eight-year presidency. He had picked fights with major Western donor countries which led to the worsening of the economy. Malawians rose up against him on July 20, 2011 during which 20 people were gunned down by police.
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