State faults defence in Paul Mphwiyo case
By Wezzie Gausi:
The State has faulted the defence in the Cashgate case where Ministry of Finance former budget director Paul Mphwiyo and 17 others are answering charges pertaining to the misuse of public funds.
Mphwiyo and 17 others are accused of defrauding K2.4 billion of public funds in 2013. They were all found with a case to answer.
The State’s sentiments come in the wake of the defence’s application to stay proceedings.
This transpired when the case resumed in court in Lilongwe Wednesday.
The Cashgate case has been in court for seven years now.
Speaking on the sidelines of court proceedings, State lawyer Mathews Gamadzi said there was no need for the defence to file such an application when the matter was at the judgement drafting stage.
He said what the defence is doing is a tactic meant to delay the matter further.
“We, as the State, see no reason to have the matter stayed again. What is happening is meant to delay these proceedings. We have worked so hard to reach this end and it is not proper to continue playing tricks for the case not to be concluded,” Gamadzi said.
However, defence lawyer Michael Goba Chipeta justified the application for stay of proceedings.
He said when the court proceeds to make a judgement, it will be almost impossible for the accused person to make an appropriate appeal against conviction or acquittal to the Supreme Court.
“Here, we are talking about elongated proceedings which had witnesses recorded by another judge and then another judge came in to pronounce judgement.
“Of course, proceedings are recorded but there are some things like non-verbal communication by the witness that the new judge did not see. So, we are saying let this matter be stayed until we hear a ruling from the Supreme Court,” Chipeta said.
Judge Ruth Chinangwa has since withheld her ruling to a later date that will be communicated to both parties.
Mphwiyo was shot at the gate of his Area 43 residence in Lilongwe on September 13 2013 during the Joyce Banda administration.
