Kunkuyu
* The funeral would be conducted with full state honours and also declared is a 21-day mourning period
* Minister Kunkuyu emphasises the importance of relying on credible sources for information regarding the funeral to prevent misinformation
* Assured the nation that they would be informed of the committee members’ specific roles as preparations progress
By Priscilla Phiri, MANA
Minister of Information & Digitalization, Moses Kunkuyu has announced that President Lazarus Chakwera has established a special committee to oversee the funeral arrangements of the late Vice-President Saulos Chilima.
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The committee includes Cabinet members with Titus Mvalo as chairperson alongside Harry Mkandawire, Simplex Chithyola Banda, Michael Usi, Vera Kamtukule, Nancy Tembo, Khumbize Kandodo Chiponda, Kenneth Zikhale Ng’oma, Moses Kunkuyu, and Jacob Hara.
Also included is secretary general for UTM Party, Patricia Kaliati and MCP’s Eisenhower Mkaka for the that funeral which Chakwera has declared would be conducted with full state honours and also declared a 21-day mourning period, during which national flags will be flown at half-mast.
At a press briefing at the Office of the President & Cabinet Kunkuyu said the body of late Chilima, along with those of his entourage and the flight crew, have been returned to their respective residences in Lilongwe, where vigils are being held — with the Vice President’s at his official residence in Area 12, Lilongwe.
The Minister said late Abdul Lapken, who served in the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, will be interred in Mangochi today, June 12, in observance of his Islamic faith.
Kunkuyu emphasized the importance of relying on credible sources for information regarding the funeral to prevent misinformation and assured the nation that they would be informed of the committee members’ specific roles as preparations progress.
Meanwhile, the technical committee is actively working on the logistics, and a detailed funeral programme will be shared following their meeting today.
Chilima and eight others died when the Malawi Defence Force (MDF) plane they were traveling in crashed in the Chikangawa forest on Monday.
They were enroute to Nkhotakota Bay to attend the funeral of prominent lawyer and former Cabinet Minister and Attorney General, Ralph Kasambara.
The plane had also been used to ferry the remains of Kasambara from Blantyre to Mzuzu and on Monday, it flew to Kamuzu International Airport to pick up Chilima alongside former First Lady, Shanil Dzimbiri.
Same plane that carried late Ralph Kasambara
It left Lilongwe at 09:17hrs for a 45 minutes flight to Mzuzu Airport, about 370 kilometers (230 miles) to the north — but air traffic control are reported to have instructed the pilot not attempt to land and to turn around because of bad weather and poor visibility, as announced by Chakwera on Monday night.
In his address broadcast live on MBC TV, the President said air traffic control lost contact with the aircraft and it disappeared from radar a short while later and he ordered the MDF to immediately mount a search and rescue and by mid-morning, they found the wreckage of the plane with all on board dead.
Chakwera later announced to the nation at noon yesterday of the tragic news and described Chilima as a patriotic citizen who served his country with distinction, and a formidable Vice-President.
“I consider it one of the greatest honours of my life to have had him as my deputy and counsellor for the past four years, and his passing is a terrible loss to his wife Mary, his family, his friends, his colleagues in Cabinet, and to all of us as a nation that found his leadership and courage a source of inspiration.”
Chilima had just returned from Seoul, Republic of Korea the day before, Sunday June 9, where the Vice-President was delegated by Chakwera to attend the Korea-Africa summit, which was held on June 4 and 5.
Meanwhile, writing on her Facebook page yesterday as a public statement on the tragic loss of the Vice-President and the others, wife to late Kasambara, Maggie said:
“At 12:00 yesterday (Monday), as we awaited the final funeral procession in Nkhata Bay, we received confirmation from protocol that the Vice-President, the Right Honorable Dr. Saulos Klaus Chilima, had failed to land in Mzuzu and therefore would not be able to attend. “Having used the exact same plane the day before to get to the Northern Region, we initially assumed that the aircraft had returned safely to Lilongwe.
“We had been warned by the aircraft operators that if weather conditions at the destination airport were unfavorable for landing, they would simply return to the nearest airport, just as our flight on Sunday, June 9th had done.
“Later on, like many of you, we received the distressing news that the plane carrying the Vice-President and nine others had not made it back to its original airport of departure and could not be traced. Today, it has been confirmed that the plane was found by the search and rescue team near a hill in the Chikangawa forest with no survivors; all onboard were killed on impact.
“Hearing such news immediately after the burial, extended our mourning as a family. The Right Honorable Dr. Saulos Klaus Chilima was a very close friend to Ralph, with a relationship spanning back to their days at Chancellor College.
“It is heart-wrenching and almost impossible to accept that he died while attempting to bid farewell to his brother. We are in disbelief, and until yesterday, we were fervently praying and hoping that the news of the plane going missing were merely rumors. The tragedies seem to compound at this point.
“We woke up wishing it were all a dream, but it is a harsh reality we cannot escape. At this time, we ask our friends and families to keep us in their prayers, particularly Madame Mary Nkhamanyachi Chilima, wife of the late Vice President, and the two children.
The First Lady Monica Chakwera comforting Mary Chilima when welcoming the body of her husband
“Our deepest condolences go out to the families of the other eight passengers, as well as to those of the crew members who perished. This was the same plane we used to travel to Mzuzu from Blantyre on Sunday, June 9th, and as President Lazarus Chakwera noted in his speech, it had successfully completed numerous trips across the country until yesterday.
“We extend our heartfelt thanks to the MDF for their relentless efforts, working through the night under difficult weather conditions to recover the remains of our loved ones.
“People may express their opinions on social media, but we understand that this was no easy task, especially considering that many on that flight were men and women of honour, who served their country with distinction. As a nation, we are at a loss for words. The sequence of events is just too untimely and tragic.
“In these dark times, there are scriptures to comfort us. Corinthians Chapter 4 verse 8 says: ‘We are afflicted in every way, but not crushed; perplexed, but not driven to despair’.”—Additional reporting by Duncan Mlanjira, Maravi Express
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