Malawians are still in a state of shock. On Monday this week, a plane carrying Vice- President Saulos Chilima went down in Chikangawa Forest in Mzimba, killing the country’s second in command and eight others.
The Malawi Defence Force (MDF) aircraft was being operated by three army officers with substantial flight hours. They also perished in the aviation disaster.
Results of a preliminary assessment by MDF—the owners of the ill-fated plane, a Dornier 227— indicate that it crashed due to bad weather.
It had reportedly failed to land at Mzuzu Airport because of the same reason, which made it difficult for the pilot to have a clear view of the airport runway, and was on its way back to Kamuzu International Airport.
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So far, several conspiracy theories have been invented by anyone who feels concerned regarding what caused the crash, and several conclusions have been reached.
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On the social media, several people have been convicted of bringing the plane down.
In moments of grief, such as what Malawi is passing through, perhaps it is normal for people to say whatever they want as long as it does not return to haunt them.
At the end, it is a proper and thorough investigation which, as per standards, should involve several experts, that will probably provide an ultimate explanation about what really happened for a plane carrying one of the country’s most important people to crash.
In the meantime, it is only important that we should all remain united in mourning the nine crash victims while also expressing ourselves in ways that do not further hurt their families.
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A time will in due course come when all the confusion that is being felt today will be cleared and reason will return once again.
Like others have suggested before, that is the most important time in terms of asking important questions surrounding the accident.
Malawi has lost a sitting vice president in a plane crash, an event that has never happened before in the country’s history.
What only comes closer to that was the other untimely death of Bingu wa Mutharika in 2012 while he was still ruling the country, but Bingu did not die in a plane crash.
In fact, Monday’s incident is the biggest plane accident in Malawi; that is why the search for answers continues being pushed by several quarters.
The only problem is that the midst of the quest, chaos may ensue which may further jeopardise the investigations.
Well, once again, mourners are not supposed to be advised on how they should grieve; they take whichever path they feel will soothe their hearts.
But among those who are advancing the conspiracy theories are some who clearly do not know anything about what they are talking about.
That does not seem the right way of honouring the departed individuals. Their memories will live on, especially because they also died while in public duty.
Chilima appeared on the political scene when the usual ways of doing things had been sternly consolidated.
He changed the way public offices do their work, by demanding the best from them. He could even turn back those who arrived late at meetings where he was in attendance.
The private-sector spirit of not compromising on what you are required to do and deliver helped him chart a new path in how public officers must work, even though he faced resistance from those who felt he had come to harmfully disrupt the establishment.
He championed the reforms agenda in a bid to contribute to improved service delivery in public offices, even when his efforts were being frustrated.
One thing that the fallen veep stuck to even when others thought it was time to give up was to continue doing the work of his office amidst all the challenges he faced.
His energy was unparallelled.
Many of us would want to have that person rule this country at one point in time. He had the traits of a transformative leader which this country has lacked for years.
But destiny is no respecter of human wishes. It does not give in to conventional predictions of who should not die at a particular time.
What those of us who have remained behind can do in honour of Chilima’s memory is to revisit what he believed in and replicate them in whatever capacity we have.
All those who perished in the crash made their own contributions to Malawi and there should also be proper ways of honouring their memories.
Death has struck Malawi where it pains most. It is even most excruciating because it caught everyone unawares.
As we cherished the lives of Chilima and the eight others while they lived, may we also remember them with affection afterwards.
