Chief government spokesperson Kennedy Sakeni has urged people in the country to remain patient with the Patriotic Front (PF) government on the issue of availing the report on what caused the 1993 Gabon Air disaster in which the Zambia National Football team perished.
Mr. Sakeni who is also Minister of Information and Broadcasting says the PF government also sympathizes and shares the frustrations of the families of deceased thirty men that died in the air disaster as it has taken too long to publish the report.
Mr. Sakeni has affirmed that PF government will keep its promise of publicizing the report once Cabinet reviews matter.
The Chief government spokesperson has also refuted assertions suggesting that the Zambian government and that of Gabon had gone into a conspiracy to hide the truth behind the cause of the 1993 Gabon air disaster the reason why up to now the report has not been disclosed.
The Minister was speaking in an interview with QFM.
Twalolela sana…poseniko amano bane.No wonder abakashi bakwa Effort Chabala bamitukila twamona.
aah mudala naiwe….apa kuichala fye! monga munaliko when it happened, muzaziletelelapo che!
he has started a war he wont finish.
he should have just kept quiet for sure.
Patience? For how long?
Patience for what? Is the thing being written now? Just release it…
In other words another decade to wait. Its been twenty years and the families of the deceased have not had closure, talk about moving at a snails pace!
at this rate, the snail’s pace is faster.
The Gabonese government have said before that a report on the crash was completed within a year of the incident. This is one of the biggest scandals in our country. One can only speculate that the report has been kept under wraps probably because either the plane was faulty (meaning government can be sued by the surviving family members) or the rumour that it was shot down is true (in which case another country’s government is responsible but being protected). If the latter, there may have been compensation paid to the government, which funds may have been denied the bereaved. It cannot take 20 years for a report to be released. This is where our lawyers should help the bereaved families take out a civil suit against the government of Zambia.
there is a french military base just outside the shores near to where the ‘accident’ happened. i believe.
Stupidity has no depth. There has never been an appreciation of this fact in politics. In Zambia especially, politicians have abused the privilege of stupidity to its limit.
Patience? After waiting for 20 years! This should have been revealed within 90 days of your assuming office you danderheads!
the report is there bwana minister, what are you waiting for, release it please….
if zambia had caring lawyers and not these greedy ones we have, this case would have been a closed chapter by now and the affected families compesated.
it pained me the other day when i listened to the late eston mulenga’s son who, despite being on a 75% bursary at cbu, could still not raise the 25% balance.
am sure if the father was still alive, he would have raised the balance but for just one mistake by whoever, the boy’s future hangs in a balance.
how sad…
this is were i miss that galant fighter of a woman,
LUCY SICHONE – mhsrip.
Just involve NGC & NTSB we see a documentary either as air crash investigation or seconds from disaster
Sata knew what happened to that plane in 1993 itself. Not sure what Sakeni means by patience.
We all know what happened, all we need is for your confirmation. Let’s please have the report issued in the next 3 months.
The Zambian national football team had to play a World cup qualification match against the Senegal national team. In order to transport the team and officials to Dakar, a Zambian Air Force plane was prepared. The DHC-5 Buffalo, AF-319, had not been flying from December 21, 1992 to April 21, 1993 so test flights were carried out on April 22 and April 26. On April 26 both the A and B checks were carried out revealing certain defects such as carbon particles in the engine and in speed decreased gearbox oil filters, disconnected or unbridled cables and trace of heating. The Buffalo departed Lusaka, for Dakar with planned intermediate stops at Brazzaville, Libreville and Abidjan. After refuelling at Libreville, the aircraft took-off at 22:44 hours, one hour and 45 minutes late. Shortly…
After refuelling at Libreville, the aircraft took-off at 22:44 hours, one hour and 45 minutes late. Shortly afterwards the left engine failed. The plane headed out over sea and lost altitude until it struck the water 500m offshore. An investigation conducted by the Gabonese Ministry of Defence suggested that the pilot shut down the remaining right-hand engine causing the plane to lose all power. The report, released in November 2003, also said that the pilot was tired, having just flown back from Mauritius the previous day.
Sources:
» Air Safety Week 3.5.1993 (p.5)
» Flight International 6-12.04.1993 (p.35)
At the first stop in Brazzaville engine problems were noted. Despite this, the flight continued and a few minutes after taking off from the second stop in Libreville the left engine caught fire and failed. The pilot, who had also flown the team from a match in Mauritius the previous day, then shut down the right engine, causing the plane to lose all power during the climb out of Libreville Airport and fall into the water 500m (547 yards) offshore. A Gabonese report released in 2003 attributed the pilot’s actions to a faulty warning light and fatigue on the part of the pilot.
The report is on the internet tell the families
DHC-5
Accidents and incidents
In total, 26 hull losses have been recorded. The most notable crash involving a DHC-5 occurred on 27 April 1993, when a DHC-5 carrying the Zambia national football team to a 1994 FIFA World Cup qualifier against Senegal crashed shortly after takeoff from a refuelling stop in Libreville, Gabon. All 30 people on board perished.[25]
On 9 August 1974, a Canadian Forces CC-115 operating for the United Nations was shot down over Syria with the loss of five crew and four passengers.[26]
At the 1984 Farnborough Airshow, a DHC-5D STOL demonstration ended in a very heavy landing which destroyed the aircraft.[27][28]
On 21 June 1989, a Peruvian Air Force DHC-5 crashed into a mountain near Tarma, killing all six crew and 53 passengers.[29]
Wikipedia
Evidently the reason the report has never been released is for the fact that the Government of Zambia is at fault and must be sued for Billions of Kwacha’s by the next of kin of those lost in that Buffalo plane. Boxale revelation, which is taken from the said report confirms this position: Faulty plane and a tired pilot that as a result of tiredness compounded the situation resulting in the crush.
Imagine this accident happened in the first term of the late Chiluba Government and we have since had 3 Presidents but none of the succeeding Governments have honoured to release the report. That reason alone confirms guilt on the part of Government so does not matter which party is leading the Government as the blame is squarely theirs.
Furthermore, the then Minister of Defence, BY Mwila must be personally held responsible for authorising use of a faulty plane
Kamudala you are playing with peoples emotions. 20 years of patience and you want to add more.
Posako amano kawesu tawalinako uko ka FTJ ka pongenye ifintu