Chilima crash: lawyer accuses inquiry of sidelining experts
By the AFREEQUE newsroom, based on Nyasa Times
Malawian lawyer Khumbo Soko says the parliamentary inquiry into the crash of Saulos Chilima’s plane favours disputed witnesses over expert evidence. He particularly challenges the portrayal of Major Abdul Lapukeni as a suicide attacker, according to statements published on Facebook.
Malawian lawyer Khumbo Soko accuses the parliamentary inquiry into the plane crash that killed Saulos Chilima of sidelining expert evidence in favour of witnesses he considers suspect. In a Facebook post, he says the process is moving away from the search for justice to become a political exercise.
Soko challenges in particular the claim that Major Abdul Lapukeni was a suicide attacker or assassin. He says documents show that the serviceman’s body was recovered from the crash site, transported to Lilongwe, kept at Sunset Mortuary, and then handed over to his family before his burial.
The lawyer also says that the Financial Intelligence Authority, the inquiry commission, aviation authorities, police, the Malawi Defence Force, as well as doctors and pathologists, had found no criminal act and that their reports were subsequently rejected. He also criticises the funding and prominence given to witnesses whom he describes as former convicts, unlicensed informants or sanctioned public officials.
Khumbo Soko’s criticism comes after parliamentary proceedings on the crash. The Malawian Parliament had sought answers about the accident on 30 September 2026, then a Malawian investigator explained the effects of an aircraft crash impact on 2 October 2026. Malawian Parliament demands answers over Chilima crash and Malawian investigator explains effects of aircraft crash impact.
