Hundreds of thousands of Malawians Sunday gathered at Bingu National Stadium while others lined up in the streets from Lilongwe to Ntcheu to pay their last respects to Vice President Saulos Chilima, who died in a plane crash alongside eight others in Chikangawa Forest, Mzimba District, on Monday.
And President Lazarus Chakwera Sunday promised Malawians that a special investigation would be instituted into what led to the plane crash.
Addressing grieving Malawians at the stadium during a funeral ceremony on Chilima, Chakwera said he had reached out to international partners to help Malawi in investigating the cause of the crash.
“I would like to assure you, all Malawians, that that plane crash will be investigated transparently and thoroughly. I have reached out to other countries to help us with the investigations.
“I am aware that the Malawi Defence Force (MDF) has its own procedures of investigating what caused the crash of their plane but [I am also aware] that the most important investigation is that done by independent investigators so that all Malawians are given convincing answers because it is not enough that MDF should investigate itself,” Chakwera said.
He told thousands of grieving Malawians that filled the stadium that he equally has questions that Malawians have and that he is also failing to understand the things that many Malawians are struggling to understand.
“As such, I have pleaded with international partners to help us with the investigations so that we have acceptable answers.
“My appeal to all Malawians is let us give the investigators space and time to do the investigations so that they do a thorough job. And if, indeed, we want the investigations to give us the answers to our questions, let’s remain calm and continue to comfort one another.
“But I would like to assure you that this special investigation will be conducted and its findings will be made public and that whatever will be found to have gone wrong will be rectified,” Chakwera said.
The Malawi leader said he is cognisant of the fact that Malawians are heartbroken and that their wounds are deep.
He said the tears and pain of the Chilima family, Ngonis, UTM members and youths of Malawi were unimaginable, adding that God is receiving the tears in form of prayers and that God would answer the prayers at an appropriate time.
And in his prayer Chakwera said: “Dear God who knows what is hidden and not hidden in the hearts, please answer the prayers in our tears. In our tears, there is a prayer that our wounds brought about by this death should be healed.
“In our tears, there is a prayer of wanting to know what went wrong with the plane carrying our Vice President and eight others to go missing and crash. Dear Lord, please answer us.
“In our tears, there is a prayer of wanting to know as to what caused the delays in the search operations. Dear Lord, please answer us. In our tears, there is prayer asking for comfort as we are crying. Please embrace us,” Chakwera said.
He observed that during the mourning period, pain may make other people to say things they would not normally say; as such, he appealed to Malawians to understand such people.
According to Chakwera, he realises that this is the time he must accept being ridiculed because he is the overall parent that must accept every child’s cry.
“Please I don’t want anyone to avenge [for wrong done] because others have opted to accuse me in their wailing,” he said.
A representative of the bereaved family, Ben Chilima, said the family would like a comprehensive investigation to be conducted into the issue to determine the actual cause of the plane accident
“Through this report, Your Excellencies, we hope that Malawi will be in a better position [than before] to do things that will prevent a similar accident tomorrow, next week or in future,” he said.
Chilima’s son, Sean, described his father as a great leader and “great family man”.
According to Sean, the time spent with his father was rewarding as he was always learning something from him.
Speaking on behalf of his friends, engineer Matthews Mtumbuka and lawyer Chikosa Silungwe all praised the departed vice president.
Mtumbuka described Chilima as a man full of faith, deeply grounded in Christian values.
He said he was a man who lived his Catholicism to the fullest; a man overflowing with love that was so infectious that it affected all people around him.
“The faith that Saulos had was not just limited to his Christian life but decorated everything that he did. He was a man gifted with vision, [he has this sort of] big picture thinking, strategy, calculation and the ability to do amazing big things in no time.
“Driven by faith and a deep belief, he either chose not to do something or when he chose to do it, he did it with full resolve— no half measures,” Mtumbuka said.
Speaking on behalf of Inkosi ya Makosi Gomani V, one of the impis, Kandi Padambo, said the inkosi was saddened by the death of one of his impis.
Padambo said the Inkosi’s spear has been broken and his shield torn.
Taking her turn, UTM secretary general Patricia Kaliati said Chilima was the party’s father, mentor, admirer, educator and visionary leader.
According to Kaliati, Chilima was one of UTM’s youngest people yet his advice was “very mature”.
She said Chilima was the brains behind the UTM manifesto which had “many exciting things”, including that of mega farms’ establishment.
Further, Kaliati said Chilima’s death, at 51, was a big loss to Malawi.
She said it was unfortunate that Chilima did not live to see through his vision, further pledging that UTM would work hard to realise Chilima’s vision.
“We promise you that UTM is here and will always be here,” Kaliati said.
Episcopal Conference of Malawi President Arch-Bishop George Tambala echoed calls for a thorough investigation into last Monday’s plane crash.
Other dignitaries who attended the event included Kenya’s former prime minister Raila Odinga, Speaker of the Parliament of Ghana Alban Kingsford Sumana Bagbin, Mozambique Prime Minister Adriano Maleiane, Tanzania Vice President Phillip Isdor Mpango, among others.
Chilima will be laid to rest today at his home village in Nsipe, Ntcheu District.
