Peter Mutharika was sworn in for a second term as Malawi’s president after five years out of power, making him Africa’s second-oldest leader at the age of 85.
Mutharika stepped down in 2020 after his victory was nullified over electoral fraud concerns. His in-tray is hefty. His already poor country is facing an economic crisis, marked by soaring inflation and food shortages.
Africa’s leadership is increasingly elderly: Cameroon’s Paul Biya, 92, will run for an eighth term in elections this weekend, despite widespread calls to step down. Uganda’s president is 81 and Equatorial Guinea’s is 83. Business Insider Africa said the continent — whose population is the world’s youngest — has a “gerontocratic pattern” of leadership.
