By Cathy Maulidi:
It was a day of going back and forth Thursday, when the defence and State argued, for the entire morning, on whether the State’s key witness Hellen Buluma, who is also National Oil Company of Malawi (Nocma) former deputy chief executive officer, could continue being cross-examined after the State said she was not ready for the task.
Buluma, who was expected to continue being cross-examined by the defence Thursday, did not take to the stand after Anti-Corruption Bureau (ACB) Director General Martha Chizuma sought an adjustment, saying the witness was “mentally exhausted” and could not proceed with giving evidence.
Initially, Chizuma just told the court that the witness was not prepared to proceed, a point that did not sit well with the defence, which pinned her on what exactly had gone wrong with Buluma.
Defence lawyer Wapona Kita was the first to raise a point.
“You can’t just tell this court that the witness is not ready to proceed without stating reasons. Is she sick?” he queried while looking at the witness, who was sitting at the back, along with those who came to follow the case.
Another defence lawyer, Khumbo Soko, said the case could not be adjourned simply because the witness was not prepared to proceed with cross-examination.
“The State was supposed to prepare the witness for cross-examination. Cross-examination is not small business and the witness has to be prepared,” he said, adding that Buluma was just creating stories to run away from being asked questions which were putting her under pressure.
He said there have been instances where some witnesses have cried in court but the court never stopped the cross-examination process due to such incidents.
But Chizuma argued that the defence had previously sought two adjournments on similar ground that they were not ready and the court granted them the adjournment.
She prayed that the same thing happen to their application.
In her ruling on the matter, Lilongwe Chief Resident Magistrate Madalitso Chimwaza dismissed the State’s application, saying it failed to state proper reasons for seeking an adjournment because the witness was present in court and did not personally complain that she was sick.
Chimwaza, therefore, ruled that Buluma had to be cross-examined while seated if she were mentally tired of standing.
But immediately after the ruling was read, Chizuma stood up and insisted that Buluma was unwell and could, therefore, not proceed to respond to questions.
Chizuma, who said Buluma was even shaking when outside the court, told the court that she could tell that the former Nocma deputy chief was sick though she is not a medical professional.
“This is a woman who is telling me that if ‘I don’t see a doctor now, something will happen’,” Chizuma said.
To avoid dragging the matter, the magistrate allowed Buluma to proceed to meet a doctor but ordered her to produce a medical report.
In the case, former minister of Energy Newton Kambala, Alliance for Democracy president Enoch Chihana and former presidential aide Chris Chaima Banda are being accused of attempting to influence a public officer to abuse office in the procurement of fuel.
