By Pemphero Malimba:
The Parliamentary Ad hoc Committee into the plane crash that killed former vice president Saulos Chilima and eight other people is today set to commence site visits.
The others who died in the plane accident are former first lady Patricia Shanil Dzimbiri, Lucas Kapheni, Chisomo Chimaneni, Dan Kanyemba, Abdul Lapukeni as well as Colonel Owen Sambalopa, Major Flora Selemani and Major Aidin, who are Malawi Defence Force personnel who were operating the Malawi Air Force plane
This is contained in a communique that committee’s chairperson Walter Nyamilandu Manda has released.
He says committee members would commence the fact-finding mission by inspecting relevant sites, aviation facilities, records and aircraft wreckage.
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He said the process would be done between today and Friday this week.
“The committee will visit the following sites: Monday, 18th May 2026, Kamuzu International Airport, Lilongwe; Tuesday, 19th May 2026, Nthungwa Forest, Chikangawa and Mzuzu Airport; Thursday, 22nd May 2026, Cobbe Barracks in Zomba (where the wreckage of the aircraft is secured),” he said.
He said the mission would help the committee to get a first-hand impression of the crash site and related aviation facilities.
The accident happened in Nthungwa-Chikangawa Forest on June 10, 2024.
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This happened as Chilima and the eight were on their way to attend the funeral of former Cabinet minister Raphael Kasambara in Nkhata Bay District.
Recently, the committee invited members of the public to submit information that may assist in the investigation.
Among other things, the committee said it had opened a hotline and physical reporting channel, urging citizens who have relevant evidence to come forward as the inquiry gathers momentum.
Centre for Social Accountability and Transparency Executive Director Willy Kambwandira said the success of the inquiry would depend on how the process is managed.
“This is a positive and necessary step toward transparency and participatory accountability, particularly in a context where public trust in investigative processes is often fragile,” he said.
The fresh inquiry follows President Peter Mutharika’s nod on the need for the fresh probe.
Immediately after the accident, the former governing Malawi Congress Party (MCP) administration initiated investigations into the incident.
However, a report on the investigation was not welcomed fully by some quarters of the society, which cited gaps in some aspects of the report.
Stakeholders therefore pushed for a fresh probe.
The committee consists of members of Parliament from the Democratic Progressive Party, MCP, UTM, United Democratic Front, Peoples Party and independent lawmakers.
