A close friend of Ephraim Duma—the witness who stunned the Chikangawa plane-crash inquiry by claiming he saw former Vice-President Saulos Chilima calling for help from the doomed aircraft—has revealed that he encouraged Duma to step forward.

​Appearing before the Parliamentary Ad-hoc Committee investigating the crash, the friend, identified as Munthali, said he has known Duma since 2019 when they lived near each other in Dwangwa.

​Defending Duma’s credibility, Munthali told committee chairperson Walter Nyamilandu that Duma was mentally sound and a established entrepreneur. He detailed Duma’s ventures, noting he owned a cement shop, a grocery store, a clothing outlet, a minibus, a motorcycle, and a house, which he sold to relocate operations to Lilongwe.

​Munthali’s testimony aims to bolster one of the most sensational accounts presented to the panel. Duma previously testified that while returning from purchasing a motorcycle in Ekwendeni, he saw the Malawi Defence Force aircraft pause in mid-air.

He claimed Chilima appeared at the door in a black suit, white shirt, and red tie, calling for help before the plane flew toward the hills.

​Duma further alleged that after following the aircraft with two others, they encountered armed foreign men who pursued them.

He claimed one companion was killed and that he was shot three times in the back, surviving only because magical powers rendered him bulletproof.

​Despite the extraordinary nature of these assertions, Munthali maintained that his long-time friend was fully sane when he urged him to present his account.

​The committee continues to review witness statements and physical evidence to reconstruct the events surrounding the Chikangawa Forest crash, which claimed the lives of Vice-President Chilima and eight others.