Principal Resident Magistrate Rodrick Michongwe has asked the State in the Norman Chisale intimidation case to ask Justice Minister Titus Mvalo to choose a day on which he is comfortable to testify in the case.
Three people Wednesday testified, but Mvalo did not show up despite records showing he was scheduled to appear.
In the case, Chisale is being accused of confronting some public officers, including Mvalo with “sordid threats” for their alleged roles in criminal cases that he is answering in courts.
Now, Michongwe has asked the State to communicate with the minister and choose a date which is convenient for him to testify, else the court “will proceed with the case”.
First to testify Wednesday was Ernest Chimanga, bodyguard for Anti-Corruption Bureau (ACB) Deputy Director General Hillary Chilomba.
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Chimanga said he overheard Chisale speaking on top of his voice, saying next time he would be at ACB offices, there would be “explosives”.
“He said the next time he would come, he would not leave; there would be explosives and gunshots and that he did not care whether he would be arrested or not,” the witness said.
He added that Chisale said those words on November 3, 2023, while in a meeting with Chilomba.
In his testimony, Chilomba repeated his bodyguard’s statement on the “explosives”.
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He added that Chisale said that was the only way to force ACB to expedite his cases.
Former Director of Public Prosecutions Steve Kayuni said in his testimony that what Chisale said in an exclusive interview on a local television station was a threat to his life and his family.
“He attacked me in a television interview, saying that he would never forgive me and that he was not an ordinary person,” Kayuni said.
He added that the statement clearly showed that the accused was able to do anything because of his military experience and his connection to political figures.
Michongwe has adjourned the case to another date, when the State is expected to parade two more witnesses
