Malawi President,  Lazarus Chakwera, has cancelled all his public engagements with immediate effect “in order to attend to emerging national and regional issues.”

In a statement, the secretary to the president and cabinet said all public events will be delegated to other government officials.

This has raised suspisions as to whether Chakwera has stepped down for him to cancel all engagements with immediate effect.

Chakwera (born 5 April 1955) is a Malawian theologian and politician who has served as President of Malawi since June 2020.

In addition to the Presidency, he also gave himself a cabinet portfolio as Minister of Defence. He has been leader of the Malawi Congress Party since 2013.