The journey that ended in tragedy began with a change of plans. Former Clerk to the Cabinet Samson Ngutwa has told Parliament that President Lazarus Chakwera had initially appointed Local Government Minister Richard Chimwendo Banda to represent him at Ralph Kasambara’s funeral.
Ngutwa told the parliamentary ad hoc committee investigating the plane crash that Vice President Saulos Chilima had spent some days in South Korea on official duties and returned to Malawi on 9 June 2024.
He said that as preparations for Kasambara’s funeral in Nkhata Bay on 10 June were being finalised, President Chakwera delegated Chimwendo Banda to represent him at the ceremony.
But the arrangement changed after then Secretary to the President and Cabinet Colleen Zamba contacted Ngutwa on Sunday evening, 9 June, saying she had heard that Chilima would attend the funeral.
Ngutwa said Zamba instructed him to confirm whether the Vice President would indeed be going and indicated that if Chilima attended, the earlier arrangement of having a Cabinet minister represent the President would no longer apply.
“Once the Right Honourable Vice President was attending, the planned and formal procedure of a Cabinet minister representing the President would no longer apply,” Ngutwa testified.
Ngutwa said he contacted officials in the Vice President’s office and was informed that Chilima would only travel if an aircraft from the Malawi Defence Force could be arranged. The aircraft was later confirmed available for the trip.
The change in plans also affected government condolence support. Ngutwa said money that had been prepared for the Chimwendo delegation was redirected to the Office of the Vice President for delivery before departure.
By the morning of 10 June, arrangements for the aircraft and delivery of the condolence money had been completed, according to Ngutwa’s testimony.
Hours later, the aircraft carrying Chilima and eight others disappeared while returning from the funeral trip, turning what began as routine government coordination into a national tragedy now being examined by Parliament.
