Malawi’s president critical after heart attack

Malawi’s President Bingu wa Mutharika was “very critical” last night after a heart attack and was being flown to South Africa for treatment, a minister said, raising fears of a political crisis in the impoverished southern African nation.

In Lilongwe, there were chaotic scenes as the 78-year-old leader’s wife, Calista, and senior cabinet ministers left the capital’s Kamuzu Central Hospital, where Mr Mutharika was admitted after collapsing.

“There was panic,” one hospital staffer said. “We have never been prepared for such an eventuality. He suffered a cardiac arrest and the condition is still unstable.”

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Vice-president Joyce Banda had wished Mr Mutharika a speedy recovery, domestic media reported, although the relationship between the two has been rocky since she was kicked out of the ruling DPP party in 2010 after a row over succession.

However, the constitution makes clear she is first in line to take over, putting her on a collision course with Mr Mutharika’s inner circle, including his Foreign Minister brother Peter, who normally deputises in his sibling’s absence.

Police deployed in force across the capital, while 15 army officers took up position around Ms Banda’s residence, witnesses said.

Given the parlous state of hospital care in Malawi, one of the world’s poorest countries, a senior minister said Mr Mutharika was being airlifted to South Africa within the next few hours for emergency treatment.

Despite Mr Mutharika’s condition, there was little evidence of sympathy on the streets of Blantyre, the commercial capital, where many people view him as an autocrat who has mishandled the economy, causing chronic shortages of fuel, food and foreign exchange.

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