By Pemphero Malimba
President Lazarus Chakwera Thursday directed the commission of inquiry into the plane crash that killed former vice president Saulos Chilima and eight others to publish the inquiry report from Monday next week.
The nine died in Chikangawa Forest on June 10 this year.
Chakwera made the directive after receiving the report from members of the commission.
He received it at Kamuzu Palace in Lilongwe.
Judge Jabbar Alide, who chaired the commission, submitted the report in the company of other commissioners.
Chakwera said the report should be published in all languages of the country.
“I wish to direct that a hardcopy of this report be delivered to each of the bereaved families who lost loved ones in that plane crash, and I would like that to be done by the close of business tomorrow [today].
“Following that submission, I’d like us to allow the families to have the whole weekend to go through the report, and then from Monday next week, you may go ahead and publish the report in several of our country’s languages,” he said.
According to Chakwera, the move is aimed at allowing the public to appreciate the contents of the report on their own.
“In the meantime, in my own reading of the report, I will be paying special attention to the recommendations you have made and I will make known my decisions on the findings and recommendations in due course,” Chakwera said.
He commended the commissioners for their efforts in coming up with the report.
The President observed that the work the commissioners did exposed them to a lot of misunderstanding and abuse.
“Not only because you have been investigating a politically sensitive subject that some will inevitably see as an occasion for political theatre, but also because the nation’s wounds from the tragedy have not yet fully healed and it is understandable that some will still speak about you out of turn.
“But as mature citizens of Malawi entrusted with this enormous duty, I fully trust that you will not take those attacks to heart,” he said.
Alide commended Chakwera for instituting the commission of inquiry, saying it showcased his commitment to ensuring transparency and accountability on the issue.
“I would like to thank President Lazarus Chakwera and Secretary to The President and Cabinet (Coleen Zamba) for providing us with all the resources that we needed so that our work should be conducted effectively. This was crucial,” Alide said.
He said there was proper scrutiny of the witnesses who were interviewed to establish factors that led to the plane crash.
“The inquiry we conducted is an inquiry of the people, not us as a commission, because the report we have submitted is bringing to light what people told us in their testimonies. I was not at Chikangawa when the accident happened, likewise the other commissioners, but we have come up with the report based on the testimonies the people gave us,” he said.
He welcomed Chakwera’s directives positively.
“What the President has done to respect the families, I think, is a very good directive. Members of the families [bereaved families] should have access to the report first because they were directly affected,” he said.
Chakwera appointed the commission in October this year.
The commission, which initially had 19 commissioners but later had 17 following the resignation of Silvester Namiwa and Pastor Tony Nyirenda, released the report to the public in Lilongwe on Saturday last week.
Among other things, the report downplayed any foul play in the incident.
The nine people died in the plane crash were on their way to the funeral ceremony of lawyer Raphael Kasambara.
Those that died are Chilima, former first lady Patricia Shanil Dzimbiri, Lucas Kapheni, Chisomo Chimaneni, Dan Kanyemba and Abdul Lapukeni.
Also on board were Colonel Owen Sambalopa, Major Flora Selemani and Major Aidin, who are Malawi Defence Force personnel who were operating the ill-fated plane
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