By Vincent Gunde 
By Vincent Gunde
A concerned citizen of Malawi, Mrs. Elizabeth Kaliza Banda of Area 51 in Lilongwe, has called on members of the Commission of Inquiry investigating the plane crash that killed Dr. Saulos Chilima and eight others to revisit the testimony of Mrs. Abdul Lapukeni Kapheni.
Kaliza Banda said the testimony given by the widow of the late Abdul Lapukeni Kapheni was the most painful and emotional presented to the commission.
She said from Mrs. Kapheni’s account, one could tell that her husband knew something was coming and that he was at the verge of dying.
Kaliza Banda observed that if the plane crash had occurred in other countries, Abdul Lapukeni Kapheni could be described as someone who had been paid in advance to carry out a mission.Dowa Council invites business operators for Madisi market shops
Presenting her testimony to the inquiry, Mrs. Abdul Lapukeni Kapheni said it all started when her husband began cleaning his office before travelling with Dr. Saulos Chilima to South Korea.
She said he told her that no one knows what will happen tomorrow.
Mrs. Kapheni asked him why he was cleaning his office in readiness for what was coming the next day.
He answered, “You will see. I may be coming back or not. You will see at that time.”
She said on the day before he left for South Korea, he told her not to pack his wallet with what he was to take on the journey.
The wife asked him, “Will you be staying there or marry someone there?”MHRRC supports media tour on service delivery gaps in Dowa
Abdul Lapukeni Kapheni answered, “You will see that in the future.”
She said at one time, Kapheni phoned his wife from South Africa when he and Dr. Saulos Chilima visited musician Lucius Banda who was hospitalized there.
He told his wife that Lucius Banda was in a critical condition and that his survival rate was “minus zero.”
Kapheni added, “Maybe he will be the first one to die before me.”
The widow said on that day she asked her husband that it was time to go to bed and sleep.
But Kapheni told her, “Let’s continue chatting. This may be the last time to chat.”
She said that same late evening, he ordered her to distribute some property and money to various people.
He told her to treat them as owners, saying he may be coming back or not.Dowa Fertilizer Plant to Start Production by April, Set to Meet National Demand
Mrs. Kapheni said when Kapheni returned home from South Korea, he told her that he was travelling to Nkhata Bay for the funeral service of the late Ralph Kasambara.
She said Kapheni looked at her with a strange face, with pity.
He bent his neck and she immediately saw tears coming down from his cheeks.
“In the morning, he told me that I will drive the vehicle alone. I am protecting you,” said Mrs. Kapheni.
She said after he left, he returned home saying he had forgotten something very important, a passport.
The wife asked him whether, from Nkhata Bay, he would proceed with President Dr. Lazarus Chakwera who was set to leave the country at 5:00 p.m. through Kamuzu International Airport in Lilongwe for the Bahamas.
Kapheni replied, “No.”
The widow said Kapheni told her not to continue asking questions.
He said the passport he took would show her where exactly he would be staying.
Kaliza Banda said she supports the exhumation of Abdul Lapukeni Kapheni’s body.
She suspects that someone or something was placed in the grave posing as Abdul Lapukeni Kapheni.
She said whatever is revealed from the body of Abdul Lapukeni Kapheni should also apply to all the other bodies, including that of Dr. Saulos Chilima.
She said this must be done so that justice is not only seen, but flows like water.
