The widow of aircraft engineer Major Wales Aidin has told the Parliamentary Ad Hoc Committee that her husband was removed from a Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) deployment just days before the military plane crash of June 10, 2024.
Taona Aidin testified that her husband called her on June 6 while she was at their farm in Mchinji, saying he had discovered his name had been removed from the deployment list. He was confused and distressed, explaining that mission rosters were usually final. When he sought answers, his immediate supervisor told him the order had come from military headquarters.
She said she encouraged him to accept the decision as “God’s plan,” believing it may have spared him from the mission.
However, Major Aidin remained worried about losing the mission allowances, as the couple was preparing for their wedding and had planned to use the extra income.
The following day, after returning to their home in Machinjiri, she found him drinking. He told her he needed the courage to confront his superior over the decision.
Major Aidin was later among the senior Malawi Defence Force officers aboard the military aircraft that crashed on June 10 while on duty in connection with the DRC deployment.
The tragedy claimed multiple lives and led Parliament to establish the ongoing inquiry.
The committee is expected to continue hearing evidence from bereaved families and military officials as it investigates the circumstances surrounding the deployment changes and the events leading to the fatal crash.
