* Vice-President Joyce Banda says “constitution prevails”
* Army and police chiefs back constitutional transition
* Calm on the streets of Lilongwe, Blantyre
(Releads with Banda takes over, news conference, UK reaction,
details)
By Mabvuto Banda
LILONGWE, April 7 (Reuters) – Malawian Vice-President Joyce
Banda took over the running of the southern African nation on
Saturday after the death of President Bingu wa Mutharika, and
fears of a succession struggle receded as state institutions
backed the constitutional handover.
The government only officially confirmed 78-year-old
Mutharika’s death earlier on Saturday, two days after he had
died following a heart attack.
His body had been flown to a military hospital in South
Africa.
The delay in the announcement had raised worries about a
political crisis because Banda had been expelled from
Mutharika’s ruling DPP party in 2010 after an argument about the
succession, though she retained her state position.
Banda, 61, who will be southern Africa’s first female head
of state, appeared at a news conference in the capital Lilongwe
to declare 10 days of official mourning for Mutharika, who had
ruled for eight years. She ordered national flags to be flown at
half-mast and the state broadcaster to play sombre music.
Continued…
