The commission of inquiry into the June 10 2024 military plane crash that killed Vice-President Saulos Chilima and eight others says there has been poor response from the public for any information.
A periodic update from the commission dated November 14 2024 and signed by chairperson Justice Jabber Alide says only one person has voluntarily responded to the call despite continued publicity on the ongoing probe.
“Considering the national interest, wide debate the accident generated and subsequent calls for the inquiry in both the social and mainstream media, it was our expectation that members of the public would respond,” reads the update in part.
The commission’s secretary Chizaso Nyirongo said in an interview yesterday they don’t know why people are not volunteering with information.
He, however, indicated that they are banking on the numerous witness accounts, adding that the probe will not be affected as the commission believes witnesses who have appeared before it have credible information.
“The commission has been using a number of platforms to call for information. The call was for people to come up with credible information. There is no specific number of people to be met,” he said.
On why they have been to the Eastern Region, Nyirongo said the decision was informed by the fact that Zomba is the district where the aircraft originated from.
He said: “We wanted to get information to do with the aircraft. That is where the aircraft originated from. It started off from Zomba.”
So far, Alide says the inquiry has completed its phase two work in the Eastern Region, particularly at Zomba Air Force Base and Zomba District Council between November 11 and 13 2024.
It is now proceeding to phase three in the Southern Region, specifically in Blantyre from November 15 to 16.
He further says during phases one and two in the Northern Region, it conducted on-site visits to all places relevant to the investigation and interviewed 55 witnesses.
Alide adds they were in the North between November 4 and 9 at the accident site at Pamphara Hill, Nthungwa CCAP Church, Nthungwa Forest Office in Nkhata-Bay, Grand Palace Hotel, Mzuzu Airport and Kasangazi Primary School in Mzimba.
“During the first and second phases of its inquiry, the commission met and talked to members of the public as well as management and staff of various public and private institutions with information regarding the tragic aircraft accident,” further reads the update.
Alide, a judge of the High Court of Malawi, is heading the 18-member commission President Lazarus Chakwera appointed on October 25 this year in line with Section 2(1) of the Commission of Inquiry Act of 2014 to examine circumstances leading to the accident.
The President gave the team a November 30 2024 deadline to submit its report.
Centre for Democracy and Economic Development Initiatives (Cdedi) executive director Sylvester Namiwa resigned from the commission barely two days after taking his oath, citing the decision to conduct the inquiry in camera as his reason for quitting.
In a letter to the President dated October 30 2024, he said it was strange that the commission declined to open the inquiry to the public.
The President appointed the commission after months of calls for the inquiry from several stakeholders, including Chilima’s widow, Mary, UTM Party, Democratic Progressive Party, United Democratic Front, Alliance for Democracy, Malawi Human Rights Commission and some civil society organisations.
The team comprises the clergy, chiefs, lawyers, aviation experts and other professionals.
