Who were behind “Last-mile locator” in Chilima’s Plane Crash?

By Malawi Cables

The distinction between a mobile network operator’s geolocation system and what is being described as a “last-mile locator” is important.

Mobile network operators such as TNM and Airtel can provide an approximate location of a mobile device based on network information triangulating within a 5KM radius or more .

Last mile in the real situation world does not exist . It’s a dark web kind of system that is not available in the clean web or real world situation. Only chosen few have heard or came across it .

The “last-mile” capability being referred to, however, provides a much more precise location, down to an area of about 1 kilometre, supported by satellite imagery.

According to testimony before the inquiry, former Inspector General of Police Merlyn Yolamu spoke about a meeting held at State House on 10 June 2024, including who attended.

Those present were among the same individuals we identified in our 13 June 2024 publication, in which we laid out a timeline of events on 10 June 2024 including who spoke to whom, when information was received, and when different officials became aware that the aircraft carrying Vice President Saulos Klaus Chilima was missing.

The critical question is when authorities actually knew the aircraft’s location.

The intelligence service’s “last-mile” located wreckage of the Vice president plane before the State House meeting.

Authorities had information about the aircraft’s whereabouts before the nation was fully informed.

Yet the country was not immediately told that the aircraft was missing.

In her testimony, Yolamu also said that then Northern Region Police Commissioner Richard Luhanga suggested that authorities should publicly announce that the aircraft carrying the Vice President was missing so that the entire nation could join the search.

That proposal, according to her testimony, was not adopted.

This should not be looked into lightly .

Why was the public not immediately informed ?

When exactly was the location of the Vice President’s phone established?

Who had access to that information?

Why were mobile network operators not provided with the Vice President’s other telephone number?

And why were numbers belonging to people who were not on the aircraft reportedly being provided during the search, despite the existence of the passenger manifest?

If the Vice President’s TNM number had been provided to the network operator, could that information have assisted in narrowing down the aircraft’s location much earlier?

These are not questions that should be answered through speculation.

They should be answered through evidence including telecommunications records, intelligence reports, call-data records, the aircraft manifest, search-and-rescue logs, State House records and testimony from everyone who was involved.

The issue is no longer simply where the aircraft crashed.

The bigger question is:

WHO KNEW WHAT, WHEN DID THEY KNOW IT, AND WHAT DID THEY DO WITH THAT INFORMATION?

That is the timeline Malawi deserves to see.