Chakwera announces two days of mourning on his return from London on Sunday
* One employee has lost a daughter and grandchild
* The accident claimed lives 18 women and three children
* Three are from the same family — two women and a child
By Duncan Mlanjira
Eight of the 21 people who died in the road accident along the Lilongwe-Blantyre M1 Road in Ntcheu in the early hours of Sunday, were wives to husbands who work for Illovo Sugar Malawi.
Advertisement
An internal memo the company has released gives the list of names of the affected husbands that include a father who has lost a daughter and grandchild.
Illovo asks the employees to remember the deceased and the bereaved in their “thoughts and prayers during this very difficult period of their lives”.
“We also have casualties who survived the accident and are hospitalized at Chikwawa District Hospital. As they go through the healing process as well as the grieving period for those who have lost their loved ones, let us offer them our support and encouragement.
“May the souls of those who have departed to the Hereafter continue resting in peace,” says the memo signed by head of mill human resources, Moses Njinga.
Chakwera during one minute of silence
The accident involved a freightliner and a Toyota Coaster that claimed lives of 18 women and three children, three from the same family — two women and a child.
On his return from London, United Kingdom (UK) where he attended a Global Education Summit on Sunday, President Lazarus Chakwera declared two days of national mourning after leading in a minute of silence in honour of the dead.
Addressing the media at Kamuzu International Airport, President Chakwera said it was a tragic moment for the country to lose all such people in one road accident.
Reports say the Toyota Coaster they were travelling in was hit from behind by a freightliner registration number LA 5591.
It is reported that all the passengers in the Toyota Coaster were returning to Chikhwawa after an exchange visit with a fellow women grouping at Chindoole Village, within Mlanda area in Ntcheu.
CoVID-19 vaccine alert