The Parliamentary Ad-Hoc Committee investigating the June 10, 2024 Chikangawa plane crash is hearing testimony from community members living around the Nthungwa area.
Their accounts are bringing first-hand observations into the inquiry as the committee examines what happened before, during and after the aircraft carrying former Vice-President Saulos Klaus Chilima and eight others crashed in the Chikangawa Forest.
On Tuesday, community witness Ephraim Duma told the committee that he saw the aircraft while travelling along the M1 road. He claimed the aircraft appeared to stop before moving again and that he saw what he believed was Chilima calling and beckoning for help.
Duma also said he and others tried to follow the aircraft towards the forest. He further alleged that, after reaching the crash site, he encountered several people and later heard and saw gunfire.
These remain allegations presented to the inquiry and have not been independently established. The committee will compare Duma’s evidence with other eyewitness accounts, technical information and investigators’ findings.
On Wednesday, witnesses including Elias Chirwa, Lloyd Mfune and Mrs Flora Mkandawire from the Nthungwa community were scheduled to testify.
Mrs Mkandawire’s appearance adds another important community perspective. She is expected to share what she witnessed or knows about the aircraft’s disappearance, the search operation and the discovery of the wreckage.
Community testimony could help investigators reconstruct a timeline of events and determine whether different witnesses observed similar things. Their accounts will be assessed alongside flight records, aviation evidence, weather information, telecommunications data and the official search-and-rescue record.
The committee has also heard evidence from senior military officials and technical witnesses about the flight, weather conditions, emergency locator equipment and the search operation.
The June 10, 2024 crash claimed the lives of Chilima and eight others after the Malawi Defence Force aircraft disappeared while travelling from Lilongwe to Mzuzu. The wreckage was later found in the Chikangawa Forest.
As more witnesses appear before the committee, the key task will be to establish which accounts can be corroborated and how they fit with the technical and documentary evidence.
For now, the extraordinary claims heard during the proceedings remain testimony before an inquiry, not established findings.
The committee’s final conclusions will depend on the complete body of evidence—not on any single witness account.
