Malawi: MCP MP Ayuba Alleges Duma Was Coached By DPP - 'Just Had to Find an Idiot'

What the report says

Malawi Congress Party lawmaker Sylvestre Ayuba James has accused the Democratic Progressive Party of trying to shape public opinion around Parliament’s inquiry into the June 2024 plane crash that killed former Vice-President Saulos Chilima and eight others. In a social media post reported by Nyasa Times and distributed by AllAfrica, Ayuba argued that Ephraim Duma’s striking testimony before the Ad Hoc Committee was not accidental, but part of a political strategy to keep alive claims that MCP was responsible for the crash.

According to the report, Ayuba said the purpose of the testimony was to reach voters beyond the committee room, especially people who may not follow the technical evidence closely. He alleged, without presenting evidence, that Duma had been coached and used to repeat a narrative favorable to the DPP. The article notes that these claims are Ayuba’s interpretation and not findings of the parliamentary inquiry.

Duma’s evidence itself has been challenged during committee hearings. He said he saw the aircraft in the Chikangawa area on June 10, 2024 and claimed to have seen Chilima calling for help and later gunfire at the scene. Under questioning, however, parts of his account were uncertain, including his identification of Chilima and his assumption that the aircraft was on fire. Committee chair Walter Nyamilandu has defended Duma’s consistency and offered to take him to the crash site.

The dispute adds a sharper political edge to an already sensitive investigation, which is still examining both technical evidence and witness accounts surrounding one of Malawi’s most consequential recent tragedies.