By Wendy Mkandawire
The Parliamentary Ad-hoc Committee investigating the Chikangawa plane crash has raised concerns over conflicting accounts regarding the time the aircraft wreckage was discovered.
The Chairperson of the committee, Walter Nyamilandu, stated that the Malawi Defence Force (MDF) indicated the wreckage was found at 10:58, while the Malawi Police Service (MPS) recorded it as 9:30 AM
Nyamilandu made the remarks after the committee engaged with the former Commander of the MDF Brigade, Major General Richard Tobias Chagonapanja, on Wednesday.
He said the discrepancy has raised questions about the coordination of search teams during the initial response to the crash.
Nyamilandu disclosed that the committee will work on establishing a firm timeline by corroborating information from the police and MDF.
Appearing before the committee, Chagonapanja told them that the MDF rejected a proposal to suspend night operations and continued searching for the missing aircraft on June 10, 2024.
He further informed the committee that the testimony presented by witness Duma was false.
Meanwhile, the committee has travelled to the Northern Region for two days to corroborate evidence handed over to the Criminal Investigations Department (CID) and is expected to engage with some security officers mentioned in the inquiry.
