By Francis Iskaliot Mphamba
Why should we be surprised? From the very moment we lost our Vice President, Dr. Saulos Klaus Chilima, and eight others in that tragic plane crash, the government’s story has been riddled with contradictions and outright lies. It’s been a circus of misinformation, with every official spinning their own version of events, leaving us all to wonder—what is the truth?
Let’s rewind to the day of the crash. President Lazarus Chakwera told us one story, while the Army Commander told us something completely different. The President claimed the crash happened in a remote, thick forest—isolated and hard to reach. But wait! Locals knew better. The crash site was actually near a village, and, get this, right by a cell phone tower. How isolated could it be if villagers could see the wreckage from their homes and cell phone signals were strong enough for calls?
From the start, this was never just a tragedy; it was a cover-up in the making.
Now, more than 60 days after the crash, the lies are piling up. The President says a preliminary report is out. Then, his own Minister of Information, Moses Kunkuyu Kalongashawa, says, “Hold up, no report yet.” Meanwhile, Leader of the House Chimwendo Banda and Minister of Transport Jacob Hara both jump in, backing up the Minister and contradicting the President. It’s a whole mess of mixed messages, and we’re all left scratching our heads. Who’s telling the truth? Or better yet, who’s lying?
But let’s not kid ourselves. This is more than just a case of miscommunication. This is a deliberate attempt to muddy the waters and keep us in the dark. Why else would Mary Nkhamanyachi Chilima, the grieving widow of the Vice President, still be asking questions after all this time? Why would she say, “I still do not understand,” if she had been given any real answers? Clearly, whatever she received from the government was as empty as the promises we’ve been fed.
It’s almost as if they want us to forget, to move on, to stop asking questions. But how can we? When every day brings a new lie, a new contradiction, a new slap in the face to those still grieving, how can we move on? The killer in this story is becoming clearer and clearer—it’s the government itself. A government that can’t seem to keep its story straight, that refuses to give us the truth, and that’s more concerned with protecting itself than with justice for the lives lost.
We’re done being strung along. We’re done listening to their lies. The people deserve to know what happened to our Vice President and the others who perished with him. They deserve to know why, after more than 60 days, the government can’t give a straight answer. The only thing that’s become clear in this mess is the government’s guilt in the cover-up.
So let’s call it what it is: the killer is known. It’s the web of lies spun by those in power, the ones who think they can play us for fools. But we see you, and we won’t be silenced. Enough of the games, enough of the deception. It’s time for the truth. The real question is, does the government even know what that is anymore? Or have they lied so much they’ve lost the plot themselves?
Malawians deserve better. We deserve the truth. And we won’t stop until we get it.
