Parliament’s special committee investigating the June 10 2024 military plane crash that killed vice-president Saulos Chilima and eight others has said the list of individuals expected to appear before the inquiry is not limited to those already lined up.
Committee chairperson Walter Nyamilandu-Manda said, in an interview yesterday at the end of the first week of public hearings, that additional witnesses could still be invited to testify as the inquiry progresses.
Nyamilandu-Manda said former Secretary to the President and Cabinet (SPC) Colleen Zamba, who was expected to appear during the first week, remains a key witness and will still testify.
He said the committee is considering allowing her to appear virtually because of the significance of her role in the matters under investigation.
The development comes after former Secretary in the Office of the Vice-President, Luckie Sikwese told the committee on Thursday that both before and after the crash he communicated with Zamba in her capacity as SPC, regarding Chilima’s trip to the funeral of lawyer Ralph Kasambara.
Nyamilandu-Manda also said the committee would extend its sitting by two days to accommodate additional witnesses whose relevance has emerged during the inquiry.
“I think we are getting information we are looking for. There is cooperation from all the witnesses. It’s been tough at certain times to get information because some witnesses are being elusive.
“Some witnesses are not saying the truth, but we have managed to find a way to get information we are looking for. So, out of all sessions that we have had, we have managed to get the outcome that we’re looking for, through various means,” said Nyamilandu-Manda.
Before adjourning for the day, the committee heard testimonies from Gripps Chimzimu, an assistant protocol officer in the Ministry of Foreign Affairs stationed at Kamuzu International Airport.
Chimzimu told the committee that he was informed about the late vice-president’s planned trip to the Northern Region through a phone call on the evening of June 9 from Abdul Lapken, then deputy chief of protocol in the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, who also died in the crash.
He said no written documentation relating to the trip was kept and that he only learnt of the passengers who would board the aircraft on the day of departure.
When questioned about the identities of individuals seen at the VVIP lounge before departure, Chimzimu said he could not identify most of them by name and only remembered some of them by their attire.
He recalled that the person who closed the aircraft door was a woman in uniform and boarded the plane along with others, adding that he did not know the exact number of the cabin crew that accompanied the plane, with details emerging after the crash.
He further testified that around 11am on the same day, the vice-president’s convoy led by Gloria Kamtukule returned to the airport to receive Chilima after the aircraft reportedly failed to land, reportedly because of bad weather.
However, the convoy later left the airport premises.
“I arrived at the airport at around 6.30am and informed Mr Alex Simenti, who was in charge of the airport and kept keys of the airport, including the VVIP which the vice-president was expected to use. The first passenger to arrive was the late Shanil Muluzi, then Dr Luckie Sikwese.”
Former principal secretary in the Ministry of Defence James Chiusiwa told the committee that the ministry was not involved in coordinating travel or passenger arrangements for Chilima’s trip to Nkhata Bay for Kasambara’s burial.
Chiusiwa said the ministry’s involvement was limited to the Malawi Defence Force (MDF) because the aircraft involved belonged to the military.
He further told the committee that he first learnt about the crash through radio reports, adding that key communications between the MDF and the ministry were directed to then Minister of Defence Harry Mkandawire.
Chiusiwa also said he did not attend a meeting of principal secretaries (PSs) convened to plan the reception of the bodies of Chilima and the eight others who died in the crash because he was out of town attending his aunt’s funeral.
He said that after the funeral he travelled to Spain for a training programme and only returned to Malawi on June 27.
Another witness, former Principal Secretary responsible for Foreign Relations in the Ministry of Foreign Affairs Mwayiwawo Polepole told the committee that there had been no prior programme for Chilima’s trip to the Northern Region.
Polepole said that under normal circumstances, the Office of the Vice-President was responsible for organising the vice-president’s travel arrangements.
He told the committee that on June 10 2024, he was already in the Bahamas where he was leading the advance team for President Lazarus Chakwera’s trip to attend an Afreximbank meeting.
Polepole questioned why he had been summoned to appear before the committee, saying he had no direct role in the arrangements because he was outside the country at the time.
Earlier investigations, including a technical assessment by German aircraft manufacturers and a commission of inquiry appointed by former president Lazarus Chakwera, largely attributed the crash to adverse weather conditions and operational factors finding no evidence of foul play.
However, the findings failed to dispel public skepticism, with lingering questions over information management, decision-making processes and other circumstances surrounding the tragedy.
President Peter Mutharika, who returned to office following the September 16 2025 General Election, ordered a fresh investigation into the crash in February.
