The year 2024 will be remembered as one of the saddest years in Malawi’s history. The nation lost its vice president, Saulos Chilima, in a tragic plane crash in Chikangawa Forest on June 10.
Chilima departed before revealing his next political move or solidifying the future of the party he founded—UTM.
Since assuming the vice presidency under the Tonse Alliance, Chilima refrained from holding political rallies.
It was only on July 1 2022 when he broke the silence.
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On that day, Chilima addressed the nation, touching on a very sensitive issue bordering on who would be on the ballot in the September 16 2025 Presidential Election under the Tonse Alliance banner.
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In that address, Chilima also addressed issues such as corruption, Malawi’s road to economic recovery and the many promises the disbanded Tonse Alliance government made to Malawians.
After that speech, the alliance shook, but he retreated again into silence until his untimely death.
His death
What began as a rumour evolved into fear and, then, confirmation: the vice president and eight others perished in a plane crash.
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Chilima, died alongside former first lady Patricia Shanil Dzimbiri, Ministry of Foreign Affairs deputy chief of staff Abdul Lapukeni, Chilima’s medical officer Dan Kanyemba, guard commander Lukas Kapheni and aide-de-camp Chisomo Chimaneni.
Operators of the aircraft, namely pilot-in-command Colonel Owen Sambalopa, second-in- command Major Flora Selemani-Ngwinjili and engineer Major Wallace Aidini also died in the crash.
The news plunged Malawi into mourning.
It all started at around 10am on Monday, June 10 2024, when the aircraft which was carrying Chilima failed to arrive at Mzuzu Airport in Mzuzu City.
Chilima was expected to land at Mzuzu Airport at 10:02am for the burial ceremony of lawyer Ralph Kasambara in Nkhata Bay District.
The aircraft was then scheduled to return to Lilongwe through Kamuzu International Airport but it went off the radar.
A search mission that was being led by the Malawi Defence Force and Malawi Police Service was unsuccessful during the first night.
It was until sometime around 10:30am on June 11 that news broke that the plane was found on the hills of Nthungwa in Viphya Plantations, Nkhata Bay District.
Wrecked, the plane RAF TO3, which was nearly broken in half, also had its nose and its right wing entirely damaged. It hit a tree before plunging into the hill, sending three of the passengers out as it landed.
All passengers on board were found dead.
Death or resurrection of UTM
The UTM, once a movement full of promise, had been embroiled in turmoil since the tragic death of its founding president, Chilima.
His loss dealt a severe blow to the party, creating factions and fractures that Michael Usi—the-then party’s incumbent president struggled to mend.
Usi failed to mend the fences despite his assurance when he was sworn in as the country’s State Vice President on June 21 2024.
“…I pledge to you that I will do my best to build the party and to hold our shared values and restore our unity as we forge ahead to keep alive the dream of Tsogolo Lathu,” he said.
However, dissent within the UTM politburo persisted.
The internal wrangles culminated in a heated convention held in Mzuzu on November 17 2024.
Unlike other indabas, this one was fiercely contested, particularly the presidential position, with candidates Dalitso Kabambe, Newton Kambala, Mathews Mtumbuka and Patricia Kaliati vying for the top spot.
Usi chickened out.
Filling Chilima’s shoes
Replacing Chilima is no small task.
UTM owes much of its identity and early success to his charisma and magnetic leadership.
Registered on September 21 2018, the movement garnered remarkable support in under a year, with Chilima securing over one million votes in the 2019 Presidential Election.
He brought a new touch of politics; from physical presence to appeal at rallies.
He delivered messages in multiple languages and advocated for relatable promises: mega farms, one million jobs, affordable fertiliser, accessible passports and three meals a day.
That way, he caught the attention of many people.
It was not surprising that during his July 2022 address, Chilima said: “We need to honour the many promises we made. These attacks on each other will take us nowhere.”
Today, UTM is in the hands of Kabambe, who took over from Usi and Chilima—the man who inspired many people but left without a word.
Questions over Chilima death
On December 16 this year, UTM dismissed findings of the commission of inquiry which President Lazarus Chakwera instituted on October 25.
The commission was probing circumstances that led to the plane crash and had released a report of its findings on the night of December 14.
The commission told the nation that the plane crash that killed Chilima and others was caused by weather and human factors that included ignoring necessary measures by the flight crew.
In its response to the report, UTM, through its spokesperson Felix Njawala, said they acknowledge efforts of the commission in presenting its report “on this tragic matter”.
“However, the report raises serious concerns about its depth, impartiality and the thoroughness of its investigations. Critical details such as the specific sequence of events, accountability of key decision-makers and comprehensive evidence appear either vague or entirely omitted,” Njawala said.
According to the party, the report’s reliance “on speculative conclusions rather than hard facts” has undermined its credibility.
“Furthermore, it conspicuously avoids addressing the roles of certain individuals whose decisions may have directly contributed to this tragedy. These glaring omissions leave the nation with more questions than answers.
“One of the most troubling aspects of the commission’s findings is the conclusion that the passengers in the plane died before the crash. While the report makes this assertion, it provides no clear explanation as to how this could have occurred. Were they killed mid-air? Was it due to sudden decompression, loss of oxygen or some other factor that caused fatalities prior to the crash? These critical questions remain unanswered,” Njawala said.
He went on to say that, given that the passengers allegedly perished before the crash, it raises further concerns about the flight’s safety protocols, the aircraft’s condition and whether appropriate measures were taken to ensure the wellbeing of those onboard.
“The report fails to offer a comprehensive explanation for this shocking conclusion, which is fundamental to understanding the true cause of the tragedy.
“The statement raises a crucial point about the importance of toxicology reports in investigations involving deaths. The core argument is that without conducting proper toxicology tests, one cannot definitively rule out the possibility of homicide. This is because toxicology tests can detect substances like poisons or drugs that may have played a role,” Njawala said.
The Commission of Inquiry that was inquiring into the plane crash ruled out homicide in the plane crash, putting blame for the crash on environmental and human factors.
Presenting the report, a task that took four hours 25 minutes, the commissioners said their inquiry also did not find evidence of any technical fault with the plane.
However, the commission noted that German experts are still doing their investigations focusing on the technical part, with their report set to be released early next year.
The commission’s chairperson, Judge Jabbar Alide, also said the flight crew did not get weather information from Kamuzu International Airport when departing from Lilongwe, according to evidence they received.
Alide also said the flight crew ignored the Instrumental Meteorological Conditions that require pilots to fly solely by instruments, rather than visually.
He said, instead they opted for the visual way.
The commissioners further stated that the two pilots—Colonel Owen Sambalopa and Major Florence Seleman Ngwirinji—despite having expertise, had expired licences by the time they were flying the plane.
The report also indicated that the search for the bodies was not properly done as the search party was not properly coordinated.
“They wasted time searching [in] wrong places because they also got wrong information. They lacked expertise in the search and lacked proper gear for the search,” the report reads.
The report also indicates that the search was called off by the Commissioner of Police for the Northern Region Richard Luhanga, who consulted before calling off the search.
But the Malawi Defence Force, according to the report, proceeded with the search stating that they do not take orders from the police.
The report indicates that they proceeded with the search until the following day; that is, June 11.
