By Vincent Gunde
A Concerned Citizen of Malawi Comrade Alhaji Imraan Jumbe, says Malawians are still weeping the death of Dr. Saulosi Chilima and eight others, and are still searching for answers questioning the authorities in Malawi that can a nation honors the dead while hiding the truth?
Comrade Jumbe says on the 10th June, 2025 the Malawi Congress Party (MCP) government is preparing to erect a memorial pillar at Chikangawa forest on the very soil where Vice President Dr. Saulosi Chilima and eight others, tragically lost their lives in a plane crash.
He says but as the cement dries and the stones are laid, one question hangs heavier than the fog of Chikangawa forest, government has refused to give answers, instead of clarity, they are offering ceremonies to honor Dr. Chilima and eight others.
Speaking through his face book page, Comrade Jumbe has expressed his surprise that the MCP government is preparing for a memorial pillar yet, no one including President Dr. Lazarus Chakwera tells Malawians what really happened, before pillars of memorial at Chikangawa.
Comrade Jumbe has questioned President Chakwera and the MCP that where is the black box, the voice of the final moments? Why was no trace of blood or visible trauma on any of the victims and who informed President Chakwera that the plane reached Mzuzu and returned back due to fogs?
He has continued to question President Chakwera and the MCP that why there was no any prominent member of the MCP in the plane and why was Chakwera in Germany meeting with those allegedly involved in the investigation, while the country cried out for answers?
The citizen says these are not political questions, they are human questions, saying they are the cries of aggrieving nation that refuses to be silenced claiming that it is deeply disheartening and frankly embarrassing that instead of facing the nation with transparency and truth, the government has chosen symbolism.
“You cannot cover fire with ashes, a memorial built on unanswered questions is not a symbol of honor, it is a moment of denial,” reads Comrade Jumbe’s writings on the wall.
Comrade Jumbe has asked the authorities in Malawi that before they stone upon stone at Chikangawa forest, they should first lay the foundation of truth, let the black box speak and let there be real forensic experts of genuine Commission of Enquiry.
He says Malawians are not opposing remembrance by the government, they are demanding it, but remembrance without truth is a betrayal, Malawians need accountability, justice for Dr. Saulosi Chilima, for the eight souls who perished with him and for the generations watching, and learning what kind of nation they are becoming.
The citizen says until the truth is told, the pillar of Chikangawa will not stand as a scar of silence, Malawians will keep asking, keep remembering-not the ceremony but the silence of truth that followed the crash.
