AG Kaphale allowed to cross-examine Chilima’s third witness Ndasauka

Malawi Electoral Commission (MEC) legal team was on Friday was allowed to cross- UTM Party presidential candidate Saulos Chilima’s third witness Darlington Ndasauka  in the landmark presidential poll case after a successful out-of-court meeting between  the first petitioner legal team and MEC lawyers.

On Friday afternoon, lawyer for first petitioner Chilima, Dr Chikosa Silungwe stunned the Constitutional Court when he said MEC legal team led by Attorney General Kalekeni Kaphale has finished cross-examining the former vice president’s witnesses.

Silungwe told the court that the MEC lawyers did not indicate in their checklist submitted to the court that they would cross examine other witnesses apart from Chilima and Mirriam Gwalidi.

“I am not sure if they erred but we were required to submit an amended checklist by 26 August which they did not.

“I was surprised that the Attorney General said he wanted to cross examine the third witness, Darlington Ndasauka, when he cannot,” said Chikosa later in an interview outside the court.

However, on Friday morning Silungwe told the court that the two parties discussed the issue and the first petitioner has agreed to give the Attorney General a chance to cross examine the witness.

“We met and I put to him that the cross examination should not take more than an hour to which the Attorney General indicated that it will not take more than 20 minutes,” said Silungwe.

True to his word, Kaphale’s cross examination which centered in statistics on the altered results lasted exactly 20 minutes.

Ndasauka told the called that the total number of disputed votes in his sworn statement is 198.

After Attorney General corss-examination, lawyer  Frank Mbeta for second respondents Peter Mutharika started cross-examining Ndasauka.

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