The antics that many were expecting from Raphael Kasambara have begun in earnest as he begins defending himself from the Paul Mphwiyo attempted murder case. After hearing from Mary Kachale the judge determined that Raphael Kasambara had a case to answer.
Kasambara according to many familiar with the laws of Malawi If found guilty will face long time in jail with hard labor, it is therefore no surprise the famed lawyer will defend himself vigorously.
The opening salvo from Raphael Kasambara was to ask the sitting Judge Michael Mtambo to recuse himself from the case, on claims the judge is biased and being used by government. The former Justice Minister, who is also representing himself in the case, accused Mtambo of being biased toward the State prosecutor Director of Public Prosecution (DPP) Mary Kachale in the case.
Kasambara history is intriguing, Ralph Kasambara was known to be an activist, lawyer, teacher, and politician. He served as the Minister of Justice and Attorney General from April 2012 for the Joyce Banda administration until he was arrested for being a suspect in the Paul Mphwiyo shooting.
The history of Joyce Banda and Ralph as he known in Malawi circles goes back a ways. During the tussles Banda was having with Bingu, Raphael became her legal representative. During that time Kasambara became a critic of the administration of Bingu WA Mutharika, being vocal about grounds for impeachment and commenting that “Bingu wants to be a dictator”.
He was jailed in February 2012, after thugs went to his office with petrol bombs in an attempted arson plot, he called the police, together with supporters and restrained the perpetrators. Instead he was arrested for kidnapping and torture of the thugs. He was later released on bail, and then arrested again over the faulty bail procedures. Joyce Banda in a public display of support at risk to herself visited and consoled Kasambara in Jail.
Raphael Kasambara has listed Joyce Banda as a witness in his defense case in chief. Many publications last week quoting a source close to the former President indicated that she will refuse to be a defense witness if called. However the Maravi Post asked Lawyer Allan Ntata about what the implications would be If the former President refused to obey a court summon, according to Ntata, Joyce Banda can refuse, but she she’d have to face consequences of refusing a court summons. She would be in contempt of court and a conviction on that carries a prison sentence.
The attempt on Paul Mphwiyo’s life opened the can of worms on the looting happening at Capitol Hill dubbed the cashgate as government and ruling party officials squandered billions of public funds.
One of the reasons the former President is being called to the witness stand is that she announced at a public function the following afternoon that she knew who had shot Mphwiyo, and why. Accounts of the incident, purportedly written by insiders at the Ministry of Finance, began appearing online, claiming that Mphwiyo had been shot as a result of a multi-million Malawian kwacha (MWK) deal gone bad. “Flash: A senior Malawi treasury official has been shot,” tweeted journalist Mabvuto Banda. “Family says he has been receiving death threats since he cancelled dubious payment.”
There was no ambiguity in statements the former President Joyce Banda uttered at that public function. Yes she said she knew who shot Paul Mphwiyo and also why he was shot. Joyce Banda happened to be the President of Malawi when she made these un-solicited statements.
Another reason was her behavior following the incident. The former President as we are now seeing is a habit likes to pull a disappearing act when she is facing problems. Within weeks of the shooting Joyce Banda travelled to USA and stayed there without seeming to want to travel back home to Malawi, prompting Seodi White to demand On Her Facebook Page: I have a constitutional duty as a citizen of the Republic of Malawi to say this (some may call me enemy of the state): Malawi is facing the biggest corruption scandal ever. This scandal affects some of the highest offices in the land and needs to be taken very seriously.
Second Malawi is facing the biggest diplomatic row ever. As I write truckloads of Malawians have been off loaded unceremoniously from Tanzania in Mzuzu and more are coming. Tanzanians trading in Malawi as the famous Taifas are now being chased off from the Mzuzu market. Both issues are very serious AND NEED Presidential intervention. The President must return to Malawi forthwith from New York to deal with the two domestic crises.
Even some people in the former President circles demanded that she needed to return home to handle these issues.
Many neutral observers believe a smart lawyer that Raphael Kasambara is said to be has to have a lot more than is known to the public. Many caution former President Joyce Banda to prepare for traps that might snare her into the cashgate scandal if she is not careful.
