Former Malawi Defence Force (MDF) Commander General Paul Velentino Phiri (retired) and his successor General George Alexander Jaffu Junior yesterday outlined timelines of events leading to the ill-fated June 10 2024 military flight and general challenges.
Making his appearance before the Ad-hoc Committee of Parliament on the Chikangawa Plane Crash that killed Vice-President Saulos Chilima and eight others, Phiri told the inquiry at Parliament Building in Lilongwe that concerns about weather conditions surfaced a day earlier, but military commanders still approved the trip.
He said the process began on June 9 when Office of the Vice-President Principal Secretary Luckie Sikwese contacted him to enquire about the availability of an MDF aircraft to transport Chilima to Mzuzu for the funeral of lawyer Ralph Kasambara in Nkhata Bay.
Phiri told the committee that he initially informed Sikwese that the available aircraft had already been assigned to transport mourners attending the same funeral.
However, he sought further guidance upon noting that Chilima was also expected to see off President Lazarus Chakwera on his trip to the Bahamas later on June 10.
Phiri testified that he first consulted Air Force Commander Robray Ishmael who advised that accommodating the request was feasible. He said he then contacted the then minister of Defence Harry Mkandawire who indicated that he would engage the President on the matter.
“I consulted him [Mkandawire] because he had been assigned to represent the President at the funeral of Ralph Kasambara. I also consulted him because he was the minister of Defence,” he said.
Phiri also said he later informed Chakwera of Chilima’s intention to travel to Mzuzu and quoted Chakwera as having stated that he was not aware that the Vice-President had returned from an official trip to South Korea, but subsequently gave the go-ahead for the trip, subject to engagement with the Kasambara family.
Chilima arrived home from South Korea early evening on June 9.
The committee also heard that weather conditions in Mzuzu had already raised concerns on June 9.
Phiri said the same aircraft successfully flew between Mzuzu and Lilongwe despite adverse weather conditions, a factor that appeared to influence operational assessments the following day.
“The thinking of the pilots was that since they were able to fly to Lilongwe, they would also fly to Mzuzu,” he told the committee.
Phiri further said that on the morning of June 10, he was informed that the aircraft assigned to Chilima had landed at Kamuzu International Airport from Mzuzu at 7.52am and had been refuelled for approximately four hours of flight time.
He said the aircraft was scheduled to depart Lilongwe at 9:16am carrying six passengers, including Chilima and was expected to arrive in Mzuzu at about 10:02am.
The former MDF chief told lawmakers that the first indication that something was wrong came while he was attending a meeting with Lilongwe Handling Company (Lihaco) at MDF Headquarters in Lilongwe when Ishmael briefly left the meeting to answer an urgent call and, upon returning, requested a private audience with him.
“In my office, he [Ishamel] informed me that the aircraft carrying the vice-president had not landed in Mzuzu at the expected time and that contact with it had been lost,” Phiri said, adding that he immediately authorised Ishmael to leave for Air Force headquarters to coordinate follow-up action.
He said he also instructed that if communication with the aircraft was restored, it should return to Lilongwe rather than proceed to Mzuzu because of the prevailing weather conditions.
Phiri said he informed Chakwera at around 10.35am that the aircraft had failed to arrive in Mzuzu and that contact had been lost. He said the President granted him an audience and he briefed him at State House between 10.45am and 11am.
The meeting was followed by a second high-level meeting at noon attended by former Secretary to the President and Cabinet Colleen Zamba, former Inspector General of Police Merlyne Yolamu, former National Intelligence Service director-general Dokani Ngwira, State Residences director-general Prince Kapondamgaga and presidential aide Sean Kampondeni.
Phiri said this meeting resolved that the Office of the President and Cabinet (OPC) should engage mobile phone service providers to help in tracing the phones of passengers on board the aircraft.
He also defended the military’s search-and-rescue response, saying the deployment of about 200 soldiers was adequate for the operation if properly coordinated.
“The 200 was good enough to cover the search area if they were deployed efficiently and with a focused approach,” he said, disclosing that some MDF personnel were already operating in parts of Chikangawa Forest before the crash as part of an operation against illegal logging activities.
However, committee chairperson Walter Nyamilandu Manda questioned whether a series of failures, including the aircraft’s non-functional emergency locator transmitter (ELT), concerns over weather conditions and criticism of the search-and-rescue operation, pointed to shortcomings in the military’s handling of the tragedy.
In response, Phiri rejected suggestions that he should have resigned after the crash, insisting that he acted appropriately based on the information and advice available to him at the time.
Earlier yesterday, Jaffu said chronic funding shortages prevented the military from replacing a critical aircraft safety device, the ELT years before the military plane crash.
He said the ELT stopped functioning in 2004 after its battery failed, but repeated efforts to procure a replacement were unsuccessful because funding was not approved.
Responding to questions from Lilongwe Mude legislator Mphatso Boti Phiri (Malawi Congress Party), a former MDF soldier, Jaffu said the military first sought to replace the device when it cost between $6 000 and $8 000, but the price has since risen to between $10 000 and $12 000.
In the 2026/27 National Budget the MDF was allocated K341 billion.
Jaffu added that procurement of military equipment continues to be hampered by foreign exchange shortages, warning that the military is struggling to modernise critical assets.
The committee also heard that requests for civilian and government use of military aircraft are supposed to be submitted formally through the MDF commander, although Jaffu admitted procedures were not fully followed in the arrangements for Chilima’s June 10 2024 trip to Mzuzu.
Besides Chilima, others on board were former first lady Shanil Dzimbiri, Lukas Kapheni, Chisomo Chimaneni, Dan Kanyemba and Abdul Lapukeni. The flight was operated by Colonel Sambalopa, Major Flora Selemani and Major Aidin from MDF, according to the President.
