Still waiting

Pin drop silence briefly interrupted by sobs engulfed Committee Room 251 at Parliament Building in Lilongwe yesterday as three of the widows of the June 10 2024 military plane crash victims recounted post-crash experiences.

Nsanje South West legislator Walter Nyamilandu (Democratic Progressive Party), who is chairing Parliament’s Ad-hoc Committee investigating the plane crash that killed Vice-President Saulos Chilima and eight others, is known for his booming voice, but during yesterday’s testimonies he, on several occasions, had to tone down as the raw and unfiltered human grief took over.

In separate testimony sessions, Mary Chilima—the widow of the late Vice- President, and Taona Aidin, whose husband Major Wales Aidin, a Malawi Defence Force (MDF) aircraft engineer also perished in the crash, told the inquiry that they learnt about the missing of the aircraft and deaths of their loved ones from friends and social media. They said they have received no official communication from the Malawi Government to date.

“I am still waiting,” said Mary in response to a question from Nyamilandu on whether she was formally notified that the aircraft had disappeared.

Chilima (L), Lapukeni (C) and Aidin during their respective

sessions. | Jacob Nankhonya

Visibly fighting to hold back tears, Mary recounted that Chilima texted her at 9am to confirm boarding the MDF aircraft to Mzuzu on his way to Nkhata Bay for the funeral of his friend

and former Attorney General Ralph Kasambara.

She said Chilima remained in contact until 10.01am on June 10 and that her final WhatsApp message, sent at

11.37am, went unanswered.

Mary said at 3pm, their family friend Grace Valera informed her that the aeroplane was missing.

“When I saw her face, I knew something was wrong. The idea that it had been missing since morning didn’t even occur to me. I just didn’t understand why no one had informed me for over five hours,” she said.

Mary said former Principal Secretary in the Office of the Vice President Luckie Sikwese later visited her and told her that the aircraft had crashed. The then Inspector General of Police Merlyne Yolamu and Minister of Health Khumbize Chiponda also visited her at their Area 43 house in Lilongwe.

She recounted: “I remember scolding the IG for the delay in searching because

it was late evening when they came.

“I kept asking why it took them so long to start searching. She could not give a satisfactory answer. Little did I know it would take 23 hours before they found him.”

In their separate testimonies, Mary and Taona alongside Sarah Lapukeni— the widow of Ministry of Foreign Affairs deputy chief of protocol Abdul Lapukeni—also told of contrasting experiences about access to the bodies of their loved ones.

While Mary said she was only allowed to view the body of Chilima at a morgue on June 13 2024, the story was different for Taona and Sarah.

Said Mary: “I was told to prepare myself because he was hurt. I had to be

strong for my children, and we were grateful that we were finally able to see him again.”

On the other hand, Taona said the family never saw Aidin’s remains as they were told that the body was in bad shape. She said they buried him in Monkey Bay without any closure.

In her testimony, Sarah also said she was not allowed to view her husband’s body at the morgue. She recalled that only her father-in-law was allowed access and that he reported feeling a wobbly body like it was deboned, packed in a body bag.

She also told how her husband kept reminding her that “tomorrow is never guaranteed”as he left for South Korea with Chilima weeks earlier and prior to departure for Mzuzu. However, she said he never confided in her that there was a problem he foresaw.

In her testimony, Taona challenged the official findings into the June 10, 2024 military plane crash, telling the inquiry that she has never been shown her husband’s post-mortem report and remains unconvinced

the tragedy was purely accidental.

She said there are still unanswered questions surrounding the disaster.

Taona also questioned the conclusions of the German Federal Bureau of Aircraft Accident Investigation (BFU), saying the report relied heavily on assumptions.

“The German report keeps saying ‘we are assuming this happened’. Those are assumptions. In reality, there is nothing,” she said.

Taona, who claimed that only one of her husband’s two mobile phones was recovered, said Aidin liked watching air crash investigations series and often told them that in the event that the team is convinced a crash is imminent, an aircraft engineer would ensure the jet fuel is drained to avoid combustion on impact.

Based on his analogy, she said she was convinced “he emptied the fuel tank”, adding that it was the reason the Dornier 228 did not explode on impact.

Her narration follows earlier evidence from military officials who questioned why the aircraft did not explode despite reportedly carrying sufficient fuel for the journey.

Taona also told the inquiry that Aidin last sent her WhatsApp message that read “enroute to Mzuzu” at 9.42am and she responded within a minute, but never got a response although his line indicated he was “online” up to 10.16am. She requested the committee to find out who he could have been in communicating with, suggesting she believed he was reporting about the apparent fault on the aeroplane.

Earlier yesterday, former National Intelligence Service director general Dokani Ngwira appeared before the committee, but did not testify after reportedly raising concerns about disclosing classified information without clearance from his former agency.

During Mary’s testimony, the inquiry further learnt that the June 17 journey to Nsipe in Ntcheu District for Chilima’s burial was traumatic as crowds pelted the funeral convoy with stones.

“We were given inadequate protection. My children and I were traumatised beyond belief. I honestly thought that we too were going to die,” she said, alleging that the casket was dented by stones while the vehicle carrying her family had its windows shattered.

Four people died and 12 others were injured during the violence.

In a final report released in 2025, the BFU attributed the crash to pilot error, saying the crew continued flying under visual flight rules despite poor weather.

The report also found the aircraft was not fitted with a cockpit voice recorder or flight data recorder.

Besides Chilima, Lapukeni and Aidin, the crash also claimed the lives of former First Lady Patricia Shanil Dzimbiri, Chilima’s aide-de-camp Chisomo Chimaneni, medical officer Dr Dan Kanyemba, pilot Colonel Owen Sambalopa, co-pilot Major Flora Selemani and guard commander Lucas Kapheni.

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