Malawi political party asks UN to intervene in plane crash probe
(VOVWORLD) -Malawi’s political party Alliance for Democracy has written to United Nations (UN) Secretary General Antonio Guterres, asking the UN to intervene in investigations surrounding Monday’s plane crash that killed Malawi Vice President Saulos Chilima and eight others.
 The helicopter carrying the body of Vice President Saulos Chilima and others at the international airport in Lilongwe, June 11, 2024. (Photo: VNA) |
The party is one of nine parties from the coalition that led Malawi President Lazarus Chakwera to power in the historic 2020 election.
The letter said that the political party takes the tragedy “as a matter of national concern for it involves a politically high-risk person”.
Therefore the UN’s unbiased intervention is needed. Mr. Chilima is considered a potential candidate in the Malawi presidential election, scheduled to take place next year.
The letter also called for the support of the Southern African Development Community and the African Union “in having proper closure on the accident.”
The party has listed three points for consideration, including declaration of the plane crash site as a crime scene, and “protection of the site from contamination through the posting of internationally delegated military personnel.”
Malawian Minister of Information and Digitzation Moses Kunkuyu said Wednesday that the Malawi Defense Force and the Malawi Police Service would investigate the accident although bad weather was reported to be its cause.