PH
A picture of Malawian President Peter Mutharika falling down outside of Kamuzu Palace in Lilongwe during a tree-planting ceremony on Friday has gone viral on social media.
The picture was first posted on the front page of the Malawi Sunday Times newspaper and depicted the president being helped out by the presidential detail.
Social media users took to Twitter, with some members of the public sympathising with the head of state. They argued that it showed he was human.
Others however, poked fun of his fall.
Meanwhile, some expressed concern over Mutharika’s health, especially after he failed to attend the annual John Chilembwe commemorations in Chiradzulu on January 15, according to Nyasa Times. He also failed to attend the burial ceremony of one the country’s prominent politicians, Rose Chibambo, on January 16.
The presidency, however, dismissed reports, saying he was “well”.
Presidential press secretary Gerald Viola spoke to Capital FM Malawi and said that Mutharika was fine and that no medical personnel had been flown in from South Africa to attend to him, as indicated by some reports.
“The president is fine. He is not sick. He is ill… If you talk about the slipping of the president that happened yesterday [Friday], it’s normal, it’s just like any other human being…,” Viola said.
Viola said Mutharika stood on a “rotten” brick which broke and resulted in the president slipping.
