Gertrude Mutharika quietly ‘sneaks’ out of Malawi

It all started with a few eyebrows being raised and hundreds of tongues later wagging, after a ‘strange’ convoy of up to six dark and sleek 4×4 vehicles slid up to the base of a South Africa Airways aeroplane that landed at Kamuzu International Airport (KIA) in Lilongwe over lunch hour today.

Our source at KIA could not help taking a snap shot of the scene, which seemed stately, complete with a short red carpet seen between the aeroplane and the convoy.

From all the source could initially deduce, a state official –perhaps connected to State House– was making a ‘silent’ departure from the country.

We asked around. We even had to share a photograph with State House before it all ended with a confirmation that it was First Lady Gertrude Mutharika who had flown out to South Africa.

President Peter Mutharika’s press secretary and spokesperson Mgeme Kalilani told Nation Online that he could not, initially, explain whether the First Lady had flown out on private or official duties, nor say when she would return home.