An eyewitness in the Chikangawa plane crash inquiry, Ephraim Duma, has told the Parliamentary Ad-hoc Committee that soldiers opened fire as community members attempted to approach the wreckage of the plane that killed former Vice President Saulos Chilima and eight others.
Duma said he witnessed the crash on June 10, 2024, while travelling through the Viphya Plantation after visiting Ekwendeni in Mzimba to buy a motorcycle.
He told the committee that he and other community members followed the aircraft after noticing that something appeared to be wrong.
Duma claimed that, shortly before the plane crashed, he saw Chilima at the aircraft’s door apparently trying to jump out, but appearing to be pulled back inside.
He said after the aircraft hit the ground, some men in military uniform emerged from the wreckage and chased people who had gone towards the crash site.
According to Duma, the men fired shots to drive the community members away.
He further claimed that he was shot three times in the back but that the bullets did not penetrate his body, which he attributed to spiritual protection.
Duma’s testimony comes after Minister of Justice Charles Mhango urged the Parliamentary Ad-hoc Committee to revisit reports of gunshots allegedly heard around the crash site.
Mhango said the Commission of Inquiry did not adequately investigate witness accounts concerning possible gunfire, arguing that the matter was dismissed without a conclusive assessment of the claims.
The minister also questioned the presence of six unidentified people at the crash site before the arrival of first responders, saying their identity, role and timing required further scrutiny.
Mhango has additionally called for investigations into the death of former Attorney General Ralph Kasambara, as well as corruption allegations previously levelled against the late Chilima and the Malawi Defence Force’s role in the matter.
He said some information requested from the military during earlier inquiries had been withheld on security grounds.
