Chikangawa crash inquiry resumes

The search for answers over the deaths of former Vice-President Saulos Klaus Chilima and eight others returns to the spotlight this week as Parliament resumes public hearings into the Chikangawa plane crash.

The hearings will run from October 27 to 30, 2026, in Mzuzu before moving to Lilongwe from November 2 to 6.

The Parliamentary Ad Hoc Committee investigating the June 10, 2024 tragedy is expected to question witnesses on how the search operation was conducted, how the wreckage was discovered and how evidence was handled at the crash site.

Committee chairperson Walter Nyamilandu Manda says the Mzuzu hearings will hear from Raiply officials, community members, medical personnel and Malawi Defence Force officers.

Their testimonies will focus on search coordination, the discovery of the wreckage, identification of the victims and the reconstruction of events surrounding the crash.

In Lilongwe, the committee will question Ministry of Health officials, pathologists and other medical experts on the health sector’s response and the post-mortem examinations.