What sounded like ordinary words at the time have now become haunting memories for widow Sarah Lapukeni. She has revealed chilling conversations that left her convinced her husband somehow knew he would never return.
Sarah told the Parliamentary Ad Hoc Committee investigating the June 10, 2024 Chikangawa plane crash that her husband, the late Abdul Lapukeni, repeatedly hinted that his final journeys would be his last.
She said the first unsettling moment came as Lapukeni prepared for an official trip to South Korea.
“He told me he was going to organise his office because he might never return. When I asked him what he meant, he simply said, ‘You will understand later,'” Sarah told the Committee.
Sarah said the disturbing remarks continued on June 10 as Lapukeni prepared to travel to Nkhata Bay to attend the funeral of lawyer Ralph Kasambara.
“He told me we should spend time together because he might not come back,” she added.
She said that after getting into the vehicle to leave for the airport, Lapukeni suddenly returned and asked her for his passport.
“I asked why he needed a passport when he was only going to Nkhata Bay. He told me it would be a sign that would help me identify him,” revealed Sarah. “When I asked what he meant, he again replied, ‘You will understand later.'”
Sarah’s emotional testimony formed part of the committee’s ongoing inquiry into the military plane crash on Monday, as families continue sharing the final moments they spent with their loved ones in the hope that the investigation will establish exactly what happened on the day of the tragedy.
Lapukeni, a senior official in the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, died alongside former Vice President Saulos Klaus Chilima and eight others when the military aircraft crashed in Chikangawa Forest.
