Guard Commander Lucas Kapheni brushed aside his wife’s desperate pleas to stay home after telling her he felt like he had malaria, insisting he had no choice but to accompany Vice President Saulos Klaus Chilima.
His widow, Martha Kapheni, told Parliament’s inquiry into the June 10, 2024 plane crash that her husband had returned from an official trip to South Korea with Vice President Saulos Klaus Chilima on the evening of June 9.
Despite telling her he felt like he had malaria, he insisted he had to accompany the Vice President to the funeral of the late Ralph Kasambara because there was no one else to provide security.
She told the committee that after attending morning Mass on June 10, Lucas returned home, saying he felt unwell and wanted to sleep for about 20 minutes before leaving for the airport.
“I told him he should stay home and rest, but he said there was no one else to go and protect the Vice President,” Martha testified.
She said Lucas explained that the close protection officer who would ordinarily have accompanied the Vice President had remained in Lilongwe to provide security for the Vice President’s wife, Mary Chilima, who was not travelling to the funeral.
“Despite not feeling well, he left home for the airport,” she added.
Martha said she later followed television coverage of the funeral and noticed that the seat reserved for Vice President Chilima remained empty, although she did not immediately suspect anything was wrong. Her fears grew after reports began circulating on social media that the Malawi Defence Force aircraft carrying the Vice President had gone missing.
She said church members and police welfare officers visited her home the following morning to pray with the family and reassure them that search efforts were underway. About two hours later, the same officials returned with the devastating news that all nine people on board had died.
Martha also told the committee that the family has never received a medical report explaining the injuries Lucas sustained in the crash.
She said although his brother identified the body, the family was not allowed to view his face because it had been severely disfigured. She said they continue to seek answers about the circumstances surrounding his death.
Lucas Kapheni began serving as Vice President Chilima’s close protection officer in 2014 before being promoted to Guard Commander in 2019. He was among the nine people who died when the Malawi Defence Force Dornier 228 aircraft crashed in Chikangawa Forest while en route to Mzuzu.
The parliamentary inquiry is continuing to hear testimony from bereaved families and other witnesses as it investigates the circumstances surrounding the fatal crash.
