05/08/2026
Our leaders don’t have confidence in the services that they expect their citizens to use.
The 87-year-old Malawian President, Arthur Peter Mutharika, has once again left Malawi for South Africa for another medical check-up.
As usual, the trip has been described as a “private visit.” This is his fourth visit to South Africa since returning to office on 27 October 2025. His previous visits were on 14 November 2025, 26 March 2026, and 12 June 2026. Each of these trips has been described as a “private visit.”
These African leaders should be embarrassed. They preside over countries with collapsing public healthcare systems, yet when they need medical attention, they immediately fly to countries whose health systems actually work.
Instead of investing in hospitals, equipment, medicines, and healthcare workers in their own countries, they rely on the very systems they have failed to build at home.
The tragedy is that ordinary Malawians cannot board a presidential jet to seek treatment abroad. They are left to endure hospitals that often lack even the most basic necessities. In some health facilities, there isn’t even a reliable supply of water.
A country’s healthcare system should serve every citizen, not just one man and his family. Until African leaders have the confidence to use the hospitals they oversee, it is difficult to convince citizens that those healthcare systems are fit for purpose.
Today’s trip is Arthur Peter Mutharika’s fourth visit to South Africa for a health check up since returning to office in October 2025.
His first visit was on 14 November 2025, followed by a second on 26 March 2026, a third on 12 June 2026, and now a fourth on 5 August 2026. Each of these trips has been described as a “private visit.”