President Mutharika to attend Bingu memorial service at Ndata

President Peter Mutharika is this Saturday expected to attend a memorial service for his brother, former president Bingu wa Mutharika at Ndata family home in Thyolo.

Bingu collapsed and died whilst performing official presidential duties on April 5, 2012 although the Democratic Progressive Party, a party he founded said he died on April 7.

A statement from State House says the memorial service is expected to start at 10am.

Bingu was born Webster Thom before he changed his name to Bingu wa Mutharika but died as Daniel Phiri as his corpse was flown to South Africa in a bid to buy time as the DPP tried all it could to prevent the Constitutional transfer of power to the then vice president Joyce Banda who had been fired from the party.

On this day, April 6, five years ago, six cabinet ministers, infamously known as the ‘Midnight six’ of Henry Mussa, Nicholas Dausi, Kondwani Nankhumwa, Patricia Kaliati and others were on state controlled Malawi Broadcasting Corporation declaring they would not allow Banda to take over the government arguing because she was no longer in the ruling party.

Bingu, who came increasingly dictatorial and arrogant towards the end of his term of office, is however credited for the economic and phenomenal development the country experienced since he took power in 2004.

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