Witness tells committee she heard gunshots in Nthungwa

A witness yesterday told the parliamentary ad hoc committee investigating the June 10, 2024 military plane crash that killed Vice-President Saulos Chilima and eight others that she heard three gunshots moments after the aircraft crashed in Nthungwa.

Flora Mkandawire, a resident of Nthungwa, said she was collecting firewood uphill when the incident occurred and that her account was based on what she witnessed.

She said while uphill, she encountered two unarmed men dressed in camouflage who spoke Chichewa and ordered her to leave the area immediately.

Mkandawire: I rushed back to tell other

residents. | Jacob Nankhonya

Mkandawire said as she descended, she saw the ill-fated plane flying at a distance before it changed course, continued for several minutes and crashed.

“Later I heard about three gunshots which puzzled me. I rushed back to tell other residents, but they dismissed my account,” she said.

She said she later reported the matter to the head teacher at Nthungwa, who reported it to police.

“When my community accused me of being wrong to report the crash, I lived in fear. Police officers once came to my home when I was in my field and took my two children to the field so that I could confess. I changed my statement out of fear and said I did not see anything. I am here because I feel free and I hope my security is guaranteed,” Mkandawire told the committee.

She said the headteacher, who reported the matter was transferred days later, but is willing to testify, adding that many community members are afraid to come forward.

Earlier, Elias Chirwa, a resident of Mchengautuwa in Mzuzu, told the committee that on June 10 2024 at between 9am and 11am, he saw a plane flying from Mzuzu towards Ekwendeni.

He said President Lazarus Chakwera’s address that the plane had failed to land in Mzuzu due to bad weather made him connect the aircraft with the crash, contradicting the BFU report which stated the ill-fated aircraft never reached Mzuzu.

Chirwa’s testimony sparked an uproar at the hearing. Lilongwe Mude MP Mphatso Boti said the testimony could “open a can of worms,” noting it was the second report of another aircraft allegedly seen that day after a Department of Disaster Management Affairs aircraft.

Committee chairperson Walter Nyamilandu Manda said the evidence should not be dismissed and pledged protection for witnesses.

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