Deeply unsettling contradictions between the Malawi Defence Force (MDF) and the Malawi Police Service (MPS) at the Nthungwa forest crash site—where Vice-President Saulos Chilima and eight others tragically perished—could profoundly erode public confidence. These core security pillars are vital to the Parliamentary Ad Hoc Committee probing the June 10 2024 tragedy.
The Committee toured the Nthungwa forest crash site on May 19 2026. Instead of the clarity citizens deserve regarding the tragic loss of former Vice-President and eight others, the investigation devolved into a comedic, yet tragic, game of “who found it first”.
The Malawi Defence Force (MDF) and the Malawi Police Service (MPS) gave conflicting accounts of their arrival, turning a national tragedy into a bewildering who-dunnit.
Apparently, in the dense forests of Malawi, locating a mangled military aircraft requires absolutely no communication between the country’s top security pillars.
Brigadier General Richard Chagonapanja of the MDF valiantly testified that Lieutenant Obed Mwenebanda’s patrol was the first to find the wreckage.
But wait! The Malawi Police Service (MPS) strongly disagrees, claiming they were the true trailblazers, having gallantly followed a public tip-off about “gunshots” alongside Raiply Malawi Limited officials.
One might naively ask: if the police arrived first at a military crash site, why didn’t they immediately text, call, or drop a pin to the actual operators of the doomed Dornier aircraft? It seems our security agencies treat inter-departmental communication with the same enthusiasm as a toddler treats eating Kamba Puffs.
Perhaps the most sarcastic punchline here is that months of rigorous, heavily funded technical investigations by foreign aviation experts concluded that the MDF had critical failures in maintenance and operation. Yet, back home, our honourable parliamentarians have to physically trek into the bush just to decipher which security wing accidentally arrived first at a tragic destination they failed to prevent.
For a nation mourning its leaders, this circus of contradictions offers a masterclass in bureaucratic incompetence. As the committee under Walter Nyamilandu Manda tries to synchronise these hilariously fragmented timelines, Malawians are left wondering: do we actually have a unified security apparatus, or just a collection of competing departments desperately racing to rewrite history? Top of FormThese are some of the burning questions our esteemed Parliamentary Ad Hoc Committee must unravel.
Curiously, the Committee members somehow overlooked fundamental timeline discrepancies while at the site, presumably saving these probing inquiries for the formal hearings. Until these conflicting testimonies are reconciled and accountability is established, the exact sequence of events on that tragic day remains obscured.For an investigation of this magnitude, the nation requires more than just fragmented accounts; it demands a synchronised and transparent narrative.
As the Committee continues its pursuit of the truth, the MDF and MPS must recognise that their credibility is tethered to the accuracy of the information they provide. Only through a unified and rigorous accounting can the survivors and the citizens of Malawi find the clarity and closure they deserve following such a monumental national loss.
Apart from arrival discrepancies, testimonies regarding search and recovery in the Viphya Plantation were characterised by confusion over how many people were trapped in the wreckage:
lTwo people: Lieutenant Obed Mwenebanda of the MDF.
lThree people: Superintendent Harry Mbewe (CID) and clinical officer Enock Gwetsani.
lFour people: Charles Matabwa, head of Aviation Fire.
Beyond the numbers, a glaring logistical failure complicated the mission. Matabwa noted that neither the MDF nor the police possessed the required equipment to cut through the fuselage. Ultimately, the aviation team relied on Lilongwe-sourced axes to remove the bodies. Because who needs hydraulic rescue jaws when you have good old-fashioned axes from Lilongwe?
These conflicting timelines and details matter immensely. If key State actors—tasked with executing a high-stakes search and rescue operation in the Nthungwa Forest—present such drastically different initial accounts, their overall credibility comes into question.
Logically, the aviation officers, who were equipped with the necessary tools to extract the victims, likely had the most precise understanding of the grim reality trapped inside.
For the ad-hoc parliamentary committee, deciding which official story to buy requires a magic compass. At this rate, we might just need our lawmakers to wield their own axes through the sheer density of these official alibis.
