Lilongwe, March 19: The state’s latest witness in the case of former budget Director’s attempted murder case, Griffins Tembo has told the High Court in Lilongwe that according to immigration procedures there was no evidence backing the claim that McDonald Kumwembe was outside Malawi at the time Mphwiyo was shot.
Kumwembe’s lawyer Wapona Kita had showed the court Kumwembe’s passport at the beginning of the trial indicating that Kumwembe was outside Malawi.
He showed the court a passport indicating that Kumwembe had left the country through Mwanza border on the 30th of August, 2013 and returned to Malawi on the 14th of September, 2013 a day after Mphwiyo’s shooting.
However, Griffins Tembo who is Assistant Immigration Officer based at Dedza border post told the court that the stamps in Kumwembe’s passport were not backed by signatures of immigration officers who cleared him.
Said Tembo, “The procedure is that a stamp in the passport is backed by records entered on a sheet and signed by the officer clearing the person.
“In his case (Kumwembe’s) there are stamps in his passport indicating the dates he exited and returned to Malawi which have no corresponding records in our sheets. There is a stamp in the passport indicating that he left Malawi through Mwanza border on the 30th of August, 2013 which has no corresponding records in the sheets as is the case with his entry.”
The state through the Director of Public Prosecution (DPP), Mary Kachale has also applied for bail revocation for all accused, except Oswald Lutepo on grounds that the state witnesses were being threatened.
She told the court that there were some mafia-like activities trying to sabotage the trial which necessitated the bail revocation.
During the testimony of the immigration officer, the presiding judge, Micheal Mtambo had joked whether he didn’t have a copy of the passport due to the work of the mafia.
“Why don’t I have a copy of the passport? Is it the mafia at work?’’, queried Mtambo.
The bail revocation ruling for all the accused has been adjourned to Thursday except for second accused, Robert Kadzuwa whose bail has been revoked for absenting himself from court.
Mphwiyo was shot three times as he drove into his compound in the low density suburb of Area 43 in Lilongwe.
