President Peter Mutharika last evening returned home through Bakili Muluzi International Airport in Blantyre from South Africa where he spent two weeks on a private visit.
The chartered plane carrying Mutharika, who was accompanied by First Lady Gertrude Mutharika, landed at the airport around 5.03pm.
Upon arrival, the President was welcomed by Minister of Foreign Affairs and International Cooperation George Chaponda, Chief Secretary to the Government Justin Saidi and other dignitaries, including Malawi Defence Force (MDF) Chief General George Jafu.
yesterday. | State House
Mutharika, who did not grant media interviews, then proceeded to inspect a guard of honour performed by MDF before boarding a vehicle heading home.
The President left the country through the same airport, formerly called Chileka, on December 1 2025 using a chartered private jet registration ZS-FCI.
He returns to a country still struggling with foreign currency and fertiliser shortages; a food scarcity that has left more than four million people needing food aid as the maize import deal with the Zambian government falters and options shrink.
Finance, Economic Planning and Decentralisation Minister Joseph Mwanamvekha recently massaged through Parliament a revised budget meant to consolidate the fiscus and reboot the economy ravaged by mismanagement, climate related disasters, external shocks and unsustainable public debt levels, but the jury is still out on the impact the new administration’s economic direction will have.
With the post – election honeymoon in its twilight, the recalled Mutharika administration will now have to own the economy and its baggage as the stubborn cost of living reignites unease among consumers and deteriorating macroeconomic conditions keep hurting businesses.
The President was also greeted with news of arrests of prominent opposition figures over the past two weeks, notably from the Malawi
Congress Party (MCP), which has questioned the credibility of the charges being brought against its leaders.
But government has hit back, saying MCP must allow the wheels of justice to prevail.
Mutharika reclaimed the presidency with 3 035 249 votes against 1 765 170 for then incumbent Lazarus Chakwera to secure 56.8 percent of the vote and cross the 50-percent-plus-one threshold required for an outright win.
In his inauguration speech, Mutharika declared that “the honeymoon of looting is over”, proclaiming that the nation was now dealing with a different President.
“If I find you stealing public resources, you are gone, whether you are a businessman, politician or civil servant,” he said.
Mutharika mad e a comeback after being booted out through the court-sanctioned Fresh Presidential Election of June 23 2020 after a five-judge panel of the High Court of Malawi sitting as a Constitutional Court nullified his 2019 victory over irregularities. However, five years later he reclaimed the presidency.
