By Cathy Maulidi:
The family of fallen Vice President Saulos Chilima wants government to erect a memorial pillar at a place where a Malawi Defence Force plane crashed in Chikangawa Forest, Mzimba Forest, to immortalise the lives of the victims.
Apart from Chilima, others who died in the accident are 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, a Dorner 228, pilot-in-command Colonel Owen Sambalopa, second-in-command Major Flora Selemani-Ngwinjili and engineer Major Wallace Aidini also died in the crash.
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Speaking during the burial of the Vice President’s body at Nsipe Village in Ntcheu, family representative Ben Chilima said the family had asked him to make the memorial pillar request.
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“Yesterday [Sunday], I delivered a message from my family, but there is one thing which they asked me to add today [Monday].
“We ask you [President Lazarus Chakwera] to consider erecting a monument within the place of the accident so that when passing through the area, we should be able to remember our loved ones,” Chilima said.
He added that the family would continue celebrating the fallen Vice President’s life, which was “extraordinary in many ways”.
Elizabeth Mkandawire, another family representative, called for a thorough investigation into circumstances surrounding Chilima’s tragic death, saying “we want to ensure no other family finds itself enduring a similar tragedy”.
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Mkandawire paid tribute to Chilima as a man who was dedicated to his duty as Malawi’s Vice President, apart from loving his family and his people.
“He was a humble and peaceful person who always put the needs of others before his own. I would like to encourage everyone to honour his legacy by pursuing the values and ideals he held dear,” she said.
Ziliro Chibambo, a representative of the family of Chilima’s widow Mary, also praised the Vice President as a very respectable man and unifying factor.
In his eulogy, Inkosi ya Makosi Gomani V of the Maseko Ngonis, where Chilima belonged to, said the fallen Vice President promoted the culture of Ngonis.
Gomani said even himself, as a paramount chief of the Maseko Ngonis, often turned to Chilima for advice when he was stuck on certain issues.
Responding to the request by Chilima’s family that a memorial pillar be erected at the plane crash site in honour of the nine victims, Minister of Information Moses Kunkuyu said a huge possibility is there “considering that this is a national tragedy”.
“The matter will be discussed at the ministerial committee level and a decision will be made. Later, the President shall be informed and he will make a declaration,” Kunkuyu said.
