A phone number believed to belong to a passenger sent search teams looking in the wrong direction, with TNM telling Parliament that its first trace during the hunt for Saulos Chilima’s missing aircraft led investigators to Lilongwe.
TNM has told Parliament that the first phone number it was asked to trace during the search for the aircraft carrying former vice-president Saulos Chilima was located in Lilongwe.
Appearing before the committee, TNM Chief Executive Officer Michel Hebert said this when he appeared before Parliament’s Ad Hoc Committee investigating the June 10, 2024 aircraft accident.
Hebert said TNM joined the search at 1:51pm after then Malawi Communications Regulatory Authority (MACRA) director general Daud Suleman contacted him for assistance.
He said Suleman told him that the aircraft was overdue and authorities had failed to establish its location.
According to Hebert, TNM initially did not have a full passenger manifest, except that it was aware Chilima was on board.
He said the company was first asked to trace a phone number which its records showed belonged to then Information and Communications Technology Minister Nancy Tembo.
Hebert said the number was traced to Lilongwe but did not lead investigators to the missing aircraft.
