Dear Brigadier General Dan Kuwali,
Malawians still have many unanswered questions regarding the death of Vice President Saulos Chilima and the eight others who died alongside him.
Until those questions are answered transparently, people will continue to speculate and develop their own theories.Conspiracies will be there .
Neither you nor any threats from the Malawi Defence Force will stop people from asking questions until the truth is fully established.
Malawians remember the Mwanza ministers’ tragedy, where they were initially told it was an accident, only for later developments to emerge that these people were murdered.
From our perspective at The Cables, the way the Malawi Defence Force handled matters surrounding the aircraft from its request and its use by the Vice President, the responses to the crash, and the subsequent inquiry has fueled public suspicion and led many Malawians to question whether the military bears responsibility for what happened or they are covering up for something the nation does not know .
These are some of the reasons behind those suspicions if we only put MDF into play :
- General Valentino Phiri informed Malawians that the aircraft had crashed in a thick forest, a development that was later discovered to be not true .
- The aircraft assigned to transport the Vice President reportedly lacked insurance, MDF is to blame , they have money to steal in deals but fail to insure their own plane .
- The MDF has been linked in public discussion to corruption allegations involving Vice President Chilima, including claims that he was seeking documentation allegedly implicating senior military officials and former President Lazarus Chakwera.That case was dropped , the records are there and the world knows why, MDF saving their ass in the name of national security .
- The MDF has stated that the aircraft’s battery for the necessary tool in the plane had long expired and that there were insufficient funds to replace it, prompting questions about maintenance standards.
- The MDF has suggested that the experienced pilots should have aborted the mission. However, the pilots are no longer alive to respond to those claims or defend their decisions.
- The MDF has cited a lack of funding to renew pilots’ certifications while also criticizing those same pilots for operating with expired qualifications. Many Malawians find this difficult to reconcile, especially in light of past allegations of corruption involving military procurement and companies linked to Zuneth Sattar.
- Questions have also been raised about the search-and-rescue operation, including why personnel stationed in Chikangawa did not immediately lead the response while teams from other bases were mobilized.
Brigadier General Dan Kuwali, many Malawians believe that officials from MDF who testified during the inquiry sought to shift responsibility onto those who lost their lives rather than accept institutional accountability.
Here at Malawi cables , we will continue to ask difficult questions.
We will not be intimidated into silence, and neither will many Malawians.
We will continue to seek answers and demand accountability until justice is served for Vice President Saulos Chilima and the eight others who lost their lives.
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