Hot headed Foreign Affairs Minister Eisenhower Mkaka chartered a Malawian Airlines plane to Somaliland leaving hundreds of customers stranded after the airline canceled flights.
We can reveal that Mkaka who is on an ‘official visit’ to Somaliland demanded that government charters the plane for him and a few officers from Foreign Affairs ministry.
“I am almost always outside the country representing Malawians on foreign policy. I need a plane dedicated to this great task. Find a way to make it happen,” ordered Mkaka.
Then Malawian Airlines canceled all their flights and gave the only plane they have to Mkaka to travel to Somaliland.
Malawia Airlines does not fly to Somaliland which has nothing that will significantly benefit Malawi.
This is the first time in the history of the country where a mere cabinet minister would charter a plane leaving commercial passengers stranded.
Pictures from Somaliland show Mkaka disembarking from a Malawian Airlines plane at Hargeisa International Airport in Somaliland Saturday afternoon.
Mkaka is said to be one of the powerful cabinet ministers who has publicly boasted that he cannot be ‘touched’ by President Lazarus Chakwera as he is the one who controls the Malawi Congress Party (MCP) which Chakwera leads but do not have grassroots support
Somaliland is a breakaway, semi-desert territory on the coast of the Gulf of Aden. Somaliland declared independence after the overthrow of Somali military dictator Siad Barre in 1991. Even though not internationally recognised, Somaliland has a working political system, government institutions, a police force and its own.
In 2011, the Government of Tanzania and SADC super power, South Africa through their foreign Affairs ministers said that they would not recognise Somaliland and preferred that Somalia which is very rich with minerals remained a single country.
Only 35 countries in the world do recognize Somaliland as a a defacto state but has no de-jure recognition from internationally recognized country. It is also well known for keeping militiamen.
Even United Nations (UN) does not recognise Somaliland as a state.