By Yamikani Sabola
President Lazarus Chakwera has disclosed that the six–lane highway that is being constructed in Lilongwe will be named after late Vice President Saulos Chilima as one way of honoring his legacy and the service he rendered to the nation.
Chakwera disclosed this on Tuesday at Lunjika Turn-off in Mzimba during a memorial ceremony organized in honor of Chilima and eight others who died in a military plane crash at Nthungwa in Chikangawa Forest, Nkhata Bay District, on 10 June, 2024.
Chakwera noted that Chilima was a patriotic citizen who served his country with distinction and that he needs to be recognized in a special way.
“In this regard, I have decided that the six-lane highway being constructed in Lilongwe should be named after Chilima in respect of the role he played in promoting unity in the country rather than practicing divisive politics,” Chakwera said.
He described Chilima’s passing as a terrible loss to the nation, adding that his leadership and courage was a source of inspiration to many people.
The President also described the eight other passengers who lost their lives in the tragedy as men and women of honour who served their country diligently.
He also encouraged Malawians to rely on the findings of various investigations into the plane crash and avoid believing in misinformation and disinformation being peddled on social media.
“There have been three reports that have come out since the plane crash happened last year. The first report was released in June by doctors who conducted postmortem on the bodies of the deceased, who emphasized that none of the occupants of the plane survived the accident.
“The second report was released by the commission of enquiry in December last year which detailed things that went wrong on the day the plane crashed. And the third report is what German experts released last Saturday,” he said.
The investigative report by the German Federal Bureau of Aircraft Accident Investigation, published on its website, has attributed the accident to the aircraft’s collision with an ascending terrain in the forest because the flight crew operated in adverse weather conditions.
The report outlines lack of situational awareness, inadequate flight preparation and decision to continue the flight to the destination at low attitude in marginal weather conditions as some of the factors contributing to the accident.
It further states that the accident was not survivable for all the nine occupants of the aircraft due to severity of the impact.
Chakwera said having the three reports, people should stop politicizing the tragedy.
Minister of Local Government, Unity and Culture, Richard Chimwendo Banda said his ministry, through the Department of Museums and Monuments, will erect a monument and create a memorial park at Nthungwa.
Chilima and the eight others were on their way to Mzuzu where they expected to connect to Nkhata Bay to attend the burial of lawyer and former minister of Justice, Ralph Kasambara.
The other eight people on board included former First Lady Patricia Shanil Dzimbiri, the Vice President’s guard commander Lucas Kapheni, medical officer Dan Kanyemmba, Ministry of Foreign Affairs Deputy Chief of Protocol Abdul Lapkeni, and aide-de-camp Chisomo Chimaneni.
The passengers’ list also included Colonel Owen Sambalopa, who was pilot in command, Major Flora Selemani, Second Pilot in Command, and Major Wales Aidin, aircraft engineer for the Malawi Defence Force Dornier 228 MAFT03.
