By Kenneth Bwanali
LILONGWE-(MaraviPost)-In a dramatic turn of events at the Parliamentary Inquiry into the tragic plane crash that claimed the life of former Vice President Saulos Klaus Chilima and eight others, a key witness has produced physical wreckage debris to back his eyewitness testimony.
Samuel Christy Lwara, an independent political campaigner for the late Vice President who was among the first civilians to reach the Chikangawa Forest crash zone, delivered a detailed account to the Parliamentary Ad Hoc Committee in Lilongwe on Monday.
Lwara disclosed that he took matters into his own hands after being previously denied an opportunity to testify during the initial investigation into the June 10, 2024 disaster.
The Race Against Time
Reliving the harrowing hours following the aircraft’s disappearance, Lwara explained that he had initially traveled to Mzuzu Airport to receive Dr. Chilima following the burial of former Attorney General Ralph Kasambara.
When news broke that the military aircraft had vanished from radar, Lwara immediately mobilized to join search efforts in Mzimba.
His account paints a disturbing picture of confusion, missed signals, and delayed coordination during the critical early hours of the search:
Distracted Security Detail: Lwara testified that upon approaching local law enforcement and encountering three Malawi Defence Force (MDF) trucks carrying troops, he was informed by soldiers that they were assigned to oversee national examinations rather than the emergency search and rescue mission.
Map Request Denied: In a desperate bid to navigate the dense timber reserves, he sought a forestry map from wood-processing company Raiply, but was unsuccessful.
Villager Breakthrough: It was local villagers near Kasangadzi in the Nthungwa area who ultimately directed him toward the crash site.
According to Lwara, residents had already received word from tower security guards that the aircraft had gone down nearby.
Unanswered Questions at the Crash Site
Lwara further alleged that by the time he reached the location, police and MDF personnel were already restricting civilian access to the site, raising critical questions about the timeline of when authorities actually pinpointed the wreckage.
He noted that his own search ended around 11:00 PM that night when police informed him that search operations had been officially suspended until morning.
To substantiate his presence at the scene, Lwara unbagged pieces of aircraft debris before the committee—a stark physical reminder of the devastation that shook the nation.
A Nation Demands Answers
Lwara’s explosive testimony places a spotlight on severe operational gaps in the initial emergency response:
Who knew what, and when? If local security and tower guards had reports of the crash early on, why was the coordinated search delayed?
Resource Allocation: Why were frontline military personnel apparently not immediately redirected from non-emergency duties to the search mission?
Transparency: Why were key civilian eyewitnesses excluded from initial investigative panels?
As the Parliamentary Ad Hoc Committee cross-examines Lwara’s evidence, Malawians remain eager for absolute clarity and accountability over the tragedy that claimed nine lives.
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