BLANTYRE (MaraviPost)-A close friend of late Vice President Saulos Chilima, Moses Nthakomwa, on Friday, July 3, 2026, told the Parliamentary Ad-Hoc Committee investigating the Chikangawa plane crash that he received a phone call on the evening of June 10, 2024, informing him that the military aircraft had crashed and that everyone on board had died, hours before the wreckage was officially located on June 11.
Nthakomwa said the call came from Major General John Msothi at around 8:00 p.m., during which Msothi apologised for the loss of his friend.
He added that he chose not to disclose the information to anyone until appearing before the parliamentary inquiry.
Nthakomwa said he first met Chilima in 1998 through their shared passion for basketball.
He said they both trained with a basketball team at Blantyre Girls Ground and remained close friends over the years.
Nthakomwa told the committee that he was in South Africa on June 10, 2024, and therefore had no involvement in Chilima’s travel arrangements on the day of the flight.
He said that while still in South Africa, he sent Chilima a WhatsApp message asking if they could meet at his house if he became available.
He said the message was delivered, but Chilima never responded.
Nthakomwa said upon landing at Chileka Airport, he checked his phone and found that Chilima had not replied.
He said instead, he discovered numerous missed calls and messages from friends.
He said at around 2:36 p.m., he contacted a Malawi Defence Force (MDF) captain who informed him that the Vice President’s aircraft had gone missing.
Nthakomwa said he immediately became concerned and that at about 3:08 p.m., he phoned Chilima’s widow, Mary Chilima, who asked whether the reports she was hearing were true.
He said he told her that confirming the reports was the reason for his call.
He said after arriving in Lilongwe, he went directly to Mary Chilima’s residence, where he found her participating in a virtual prayer service with friends.
He said once the service ended, he asked whether anyone had officially informed her about the missing aircraft.
He said she told him that no one had done so.
Nthakomwa said he then called Major General Kaliro to seek clarification.
According to his testimony, Kaliro appeared surprised that Mary Chilima had not been on the aircraft.
He said he also contacted Major General George Jaffu, who expressed similar surprise before indicating that former Information Minister Moses Kunkuyu would handle the matter.
He said former Minister of Health Khumbize Chiponda and the then Inspector General of Police, Marlyn Yolamu, later arrived at the house to brief the family, after which he returned home.
During questioning by committee members, Nthakomwa described his relationship with Chilima as very close, saying they spent time together almost every day whenever Chilima was free.
Responding to supplementary questions from committee members, Nthakomwa said he never contacted Major General Msothi again to seek further details after receiving the phone call informing him that the aircraft had crashed and there were no survivors.
He also told the committee that when he first heard the report of the crash, he did not believe it and was too emotionally affected to ask where the information had originated.
Nthakomwa said he struggled to sleep that night because he was unable to accept the news.
He further testified that the official announcement made on June 11 did not explain how the crash had occurred.
Addressing questions about why he appeared reluctant to travel with other United Transformation Movement (UTM) officials to Nthungwa on June 11, Nthakomwa said he was disturbed by the information he had received the previous evening while also hearing conflicting reports suggesting that the aircraft had landed either in Zambia or on Likoma Island.
Nthakomwa also told the committee that he has never read either the German aviation report or the findings of the initial investigation into the crash.
Asked why he had never publicly disclosed the information despite its significance, he said he did not know where he was expected to report it.
He confirmed that before appearing before the parliamentary committee, he informed Major General Msothi that he had been summoned to testify.
According to Nthakomwa, Msothi encouraged him to tell the truth.
Nthakomwa described Major General Msothi as a close friend, saying they developed a strong relationship after meeting and regularly played golf together.
He also confirmed that the conversation informing him about the crash was made through a normal phone call rather than WhatsApp.
On the issue of phone records, Nthakomwa said he still uses the same phone he had in June 2024.
He, however, explained that the specific call log is no longer available because of the large number of calls received since then, although he believes the records could still be retrieved through other means.
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