Former Malawi Defence Force (MDF) Commander General Paul Valentino Phiri is back before Parliament as lawmakers dig deeper into the response to the Chikangawa plane crash.
Phiri is among four witnesses appearing before the Ad-Hoc Committee on Tuesday as it examines how authorities reacted after the aircraft carrying former Vice-President Saulos Chilima was reported missing.
The committee wants answers on when the aircraft became overdue and how the emergency response was activated.
Phiri will appear alongside former Acting Director General of the Civil Aviation Authority Samuel Kalua, Director of Aerodromes and Air Navigation Standards Fredrick Chisepeya and former Deputy Inspector General of Police for Operations Akis Muwanga.
The hearing will focus on the activation of the civil aviation emergency response and the mobilisation of police and military resources.
Lawmakers also want to establish how the Search Coordination Centre was activated and how information about the missing aircraft was passed to national authorities.
The committee will further examine command decisions and deployment instructions issued after the aircraft was reported missing.
Phiri’s appearance comes after he previously testified before the committee in June this year on military command structures and procedures governing military support for VIP and VVIP travel.
During those hearings, reports indicated that Phiri and his successor, General George Jaffu, raised concerns over equipment and resource shortages affecting the MDF’s operational capacity.
