LILONGWE-(MaraviPost)- Former Secretary to the Office of the Vice President, Dr. Luckie Sikwese, has told the Parliamentary Ad-hoc Committee on the Chikangawa plane crash that he facilitated requests for the Malawi Defence Force aircraft after returning from South Africa.
Sikwese said he made the arrangements following the official trip to South Korea, where he had accompanied the late Vice President Dr. Saulos Chilima.
He explained that once back in the country, he engaged with the Malawi Defence Force to secure air transport for the Vice President’s subsequent engagements.
According to Sikwese, the Army Commander informed him that the available aircraft could only accommodate eight passengers at the time.
He told the committee that this limitation was communicated to him during the process of confirming the flight.
Sikwese also stated that Chilima had expressed his intention to attend the funeral of the late lawyer Ralph Kasambara while the two were still in South Korea.
He said the Vice President had raised the matter during their discussions abroad and indicated that he wanted to be in Nkhata Bay for the ceremony.
The testimony forms part of the committee’s ongoing inquiry into the events leading up to the crash that claimed the lives of Chilima and eight others.
