Chande to lead fresh probe of former UN boss’ plane crash, death

From MARC NKWAME in Arusha

THE United Nations is exhuming the case of tragic death of its former Secretary-General, the late Dag Hammarskjöld, who was killed in a plane crash while travelling to the Democratic Republic of Congo, nearly 60 years ago.

An official statement from the United Nations, which was made available here reveals that former Tanzanian Chief Justice, Judge Mohammed Chande will resume his role as head of the investigation team over Mr Hammarskjöld death, which caused uproar around the globe, as many suspected foul play.
“United Nations Secretary- General, António Guterres is pleased to confirm that, pursuant to General Assembly resolution72/252, he has reappointed Mohamed Chande Othman, former Chief Justice of the United Republic of Tanzania,
to continue his work in relation to the investigation into the tragic death of Dag Hammarskjöld and of the members of the party accompanying him,” reads part of the UN statement.
In September 1961, UN Secretary-General Hammarskjöld upon learning about fighting between ‘non-combatant’ UN forces and Moise Tshombe’s Katangese troops, he set out to negotiate a ceasefire deal on the 18th of September 1961.
However, when Hammarskjöld’s plane a Douglas DC-6 airliner SE-BDY was flying above the remote parts of Ndola, in Zambia, it crashed. The UN Secretary-General and 15 other people in his delegation perished in the crash, under some mysterious circumstances.
Later, there were some claims and speculations that the UN official’s plane was shot down by unknown assailants. The United Nations secretariat had previously appointed Chief Justice Othman as Eminent Person pursuant to General Assembly resolution 71/260, and the Secretary-General transmitted the Eminent Person’s report to the General Assembly in September 2017 (document A/71/1042).
That report concluded, among other things, that it remained plausible that an external attack or threat may have been the cause of the crash which killed the former UN envoy. The Secretary-General urges Member States to actively assist the Eminent Person in the performance of his mandate.
In this respect and as provided for in General Assembly resolution 72/252, the Secretary-General calls on Member States that may hold information relevant to the Dag Hammarskjöld investigation to appoint an independent and high-ranking official to conduct a dedicated internal review of their intelligence, security and defence archives to determine whether relevant information exists.