Former Director of National Budget at the Finance Ministry, Paul Mphwiyo who nearly lost his life is having problems holding his case together, having told different stories at different times and now in court claiming that Raphael Kasambara the lawyer being accused and defending himself was on the scene when the attempt on his life was made.
A man who is his own lawyer has a fool for a client, this proverb is based on the opinion, probably first expressed by a lawyer, that self-representation in court is likely to end badly. As with many proverbs, it is difficult to determine a precise origin but this expression first began appearing in print in the early 19th century. An early example comes in the flowers of wit, or a choice collection of bon mots, by Henry Kett, 1814.
The more details you hear about the case and how involved Raphael Kasambara was with Paul Mphwiyo and the other defendants one believes even as accomplished as Raphael Kasambara is he has taken on more than he can handle.
Witness after witness have given contradicting stories to those told by Paul Mphwiyo. Witness Jessie Mussa, maid to Kasambara, refuted earlier testimonies of Mphwiyo that on 13 September, the day he was shot he never visited Kasambara.
According to witness Mussa, she saw Mr. Mphwiyo in Kasambara house around 6 P.M hours before he was shot. She told the court that Mr. Mphwiyo visited her boss and left when it neared darkness after exchanging bags, only to be the told the following day by Kasambara wife that the man who had visited their house was shot the same evening. Paul Mphwiyo is on record as having in a previous court session, said he never visited Kasambara a day before he got shot.
Mussa also told the court that Kasambara drove out with Pika Manondo on the evening in a Mercedes Benz which in the morning was found parked in an unusual space behind the servants’ quarters at Raphael Kasambara residence. The Witness insinuated that Mrs. Kasambara had warned her to not state what she saw that evening and days after.
On Wednesday, Paul Mphwiyo told the court that he knows Lutepo adding that they have been chatting with each other and Mtupila told the hearing his client had no qualms with Paul Mphwiyo.
State witness, Rhoda Ndovi told the court that on 14 September, Mphwiyo had been visited by Dauka Manondo. Dauka claimed that he and Pika Manondo had been very scared to hear, of the shooting and that they had been very fearful they would be the next target.
In Paul Mphwiyo defense he claims when he was shot Raphael Kasambara in his capacity as Minister of Justice and Attorney General would have been responsible for the investigation of his shooting, He was therefore scared to accuse him directly as his would be shooter. However once he found out that Raphael Kasambara had been relieved of his position he felt free to tell the truth.
