Constitution allows so I guess its just procedural?
Power changed hands before his corpse landed in SA.

Source wikipidea
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Joyce_Banda

Following the death of President Bingu wa Mutharika she replaced him as acting President. She is Malawi's first female head of state and was the country's first female vice-president. Previously she was Minister of Foreign Affairs from 2006 to 2009.

Don't forget,that he was grooming somebody else.
Reminds me of the words of one kivuitu at the swearing in ceremony.
chap chap before another fake one takes over.
lol

There are 2 Joyce Bandas?

His wife
And the current president.

The former VP who has replaced him as president wasnt the wife.
She is married to Malawi's chief justice.

His game as president:

1st half - darling of the masses.
2nd half - Punching bag.

Why?

Lord Acton's 'prophecy' perhaps?

If true, then the most important quality of a statesman is love, not english.

Irrigation, airports, roads, food security, larger national 'black forest', all these are just vizards.

Yet with love, '. . . more, much much more' can be accomplished.

c&p Reuters

His body was flown to South Africa because an energy crisis in the nation of 13 million was so severe the Lilongwe state hospital would have been unable to conduct a proper autopsy or even keep his body refrigerated, the sources said. Many Malawians blame Mutharika personally for the economic woes, which
stem ultimately from a diplomatic spat with former colonial power Britain a year ago. "We know he is dead and unfortunately he died at a local, poor hospital which he never cared about - no drugs, no power," said Chimwemwe Phiri, a Lilongwe businessman waiting in a snaking line of cars for fuel at a petrol station.

i thought they flew his both to SA for embalming, and more importantly, to give govt officials time to plan his succession. his brother and the VP are reportedly embroilled in a vicious supremacy battle. unfortunately the VP will probably win this battle unless someone dispatches her to her maker. or the army takes over.