Alfandika’s sweats profusely in witness stand:  Malawi poll case cross examination hits a nerve

November 29, 2019 Wongani Chiuta - Nyasa Times 56 Comments

The tell-tale  physical signs when someone is dishonest  includes fidgeting, sweating, or breathing unevenly  and Malawi Electoral Commission (MEC) chief elections officer Sam Alfandika had  a sweaty cross-examination in the on going  presidential elections nullification petition hearing at the Constitutional Court in Lilongwe .

Alfandika: Began sweating in court after lawyer Theu pinned him down on a number of issues concerning log books until court adjourned to allow him freshen up

During the guerilling cross examination by lawyer Bright Theu, representing first petitioner and UTM Party president Dr Saulos Chilima,  in the witness stand Alfandika was conspicuously sweating profusely.

Theu had to note that Alfnadika, as the first witness of MEC,   needed a cool down.

“Mr Alfandika I want to be fair with you. I see that you are sweating. Are you feeling hot?” asked Theu to  Alfandika who he described as MEC’s corporate secretary..

In response the Alfandika said: “ My lady, my lords, I don’t have a handkerchief. We can carry in until the break time.”

But Judge Mike Tembo  from the five-judge panel also noted that the court room was hot and that the air conditionioner was not helping matters despite tempereatures in Lilongwe being mild.

As the public gallery laughed at Alfandika sweating, judge Tembo said it was not a laughing matter as the court was hot.

“If you are feeling uncomfortable let us know,” the  judge told Alfnadika.

The tpanle of judges which include Hearley Potani, Ivy Kamanga, Dingiswayo Madise and Redson Kapindu adjourned for 15 minutes to allow A;fandika  get “freshened up”.

Theu had taken over cross examination from another Chilima’s lawyer Marshal Chilenga.

Alfandika, is the highest-level official from MEC to testify. After him there will be no one higher, neither the commissioner nor the chairperson of the commission will be called to testify.

He was supposed to be MEC’s star-witness, armed with all the finer details that fringe witnesses, such as Ben Phiri and Bob Chimkango for first respondent President Peter Mutharika, lacked.

From the onset, lawyer Chilenga -in his natural booming voice- seemed inclined to use short-leash questions to good effect.

Here is the first exchange:

Chilenga: Mr Alfandika, can you confirm that you are a mere secretary to the Commission?

Alfandika: That’s correct.

Chilenga: Your task is to do what the Commissioners direct you?

Alfandika: That’s correct.

Chilenga: You are not the one who makes the decisions, is that correct?

Alfandika: That’s correct.

Chilenga: And you’re here to explain the decisions of which you were not part?

Alfandika: That’s correct.

Chilenga: There will be no one higher than you to testify in this court?

Alfandika: That’s correct.

Chilenga: And all the Commissioners are still alive?

Alfandika: That is correct.

Step-by-step Chilenga went on to pick Alfandika’s sworn statement apart. Many of the passages, he proved, were mere opinions rather than fact.

Despite overstating the role of monitors, results were altered in their absence. On this, Alfandika was firm that monitors were present at all stages of the process.

 Here was an interesting exchange:

Chilenga: Are you aware that some presiding officers altered results in the absence of monitors?

Alfandika: I’m not aware. No results could have been changed in the absence of monitors.

Chilenga: Are you aware that statements filed to this court, from your own presiding officers, state that they (presiding officers) altered results in the absence of monitors?

Alfandika: I’m not aware.

Chilenga: Did you read all the statements from presiding officers?

Alfandika: I did not read all the 700 statements.

And although part of  Alfandika’s sworn statement firmly declared that the election was executed in accordance with the law, Chilenga pinned chief elections officer on MEC’s failure to undertake the election in accordance with Section 95, 96 and 98 of the Presidential and Parliamentary Elections Act.

MEC’s lawyers Tamanda Chokhoto and Attorney General Kalekeni Kaphale  rose to object to such line of question, contending that the cross-examination had strayed from what was stated in the witness’s sworn statement. Chilenga countered that all matters of the law were game, since the witness had declared that the elections were conducted in accordance with the law. After a brief deliberation, the court decided to let the line of questioning continue.

Here is another brief exchange on matters of law:

Chilenga: Did you gazette the results as required by law?

Alfandika: My lady, my lords, we published in two newspapers…

Chilenga: Mr. Alfandika, the question is: did you gazette the results?

Alfandika: No.

Chilenga went on to bring up the matter of the audit report, and made the witness read various passages, one of which clearly indicated that the results announced by MEC were not verified by the auditors, and that MEC wrote the auditors to validate them in retrospect.

The MEC ‘corporate secretary’ tried to state, unconvincingly, that the results were audited, despite the audit report itself clearly indicating that they were not.

Alfandika began sweating in court after lawyer Theu pinned him down on a number of issues concerning log books.– Additional reporting by Stanely Kenani

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56 replies on “Alfandika’s sweats profusely in witness stand:  Malawi poll case cross examination hits a nerve”

  1. Alufandika miserably failed to answer key questions bordering on the credibility of the elections and whether elections procedures were followed!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! The only one who sweated in court!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Wagulisa game ameneyu!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

  2. We always see chakwera sweating. Handcarachief kumanya. So what is wrong with slufandika. Koma amalawi opusaaaa. Anyaoapiii

    1. Kikkkkkk looks like there is different between sweating when you are pined and sweating when it’s hot, though seems similar but Alfandika sweat is coming from the high level of heat which was produced inside his body by the fast heart beat. Get lost!

    1. Stupid mburundi. Don’t meddle in our issues. Why not just enjoy that fake citizenship with Uladi Mussa gave you. Idiot.

  6. Opinion will remain opinion, evidence will remain evidence. Being tense in a court of law is normal especially when the climate is as tense as we have at the moment, we have seen Chilima and Chakwera goofing at the same stage so don’t be quick to conclude. The judges will give their verdict based on evidence brought forward and not bcoz the majorities want a re run.

    1. Nobody has made any conclusions. As this is a public hearing, of course people will have opinions. Mark my words, not all these opinions are rubbish. The legal minds are not only in ConCourt, we have them in our midst outside ConCourt. The only difference is that those in ConCourt are mandated to make the verdict. They will not make a verdict that deviates from the best opinions outside ConCourt because interpretation of the law and facts at hand is not a preserve of only those presiding over the case but any other legal mind or person who has adequate knowledge of the law. So you can stay quiet because you are totally naive on facts and the law but don’t rubbish other people’s views on the issue.

  8. Sweating is not an issue you MCP Youth Leguers, its not news Worthy to splash on your front pages. The Guy Alfandika is strong unmovable, no stammering, no foreign fake accent. He is the only witness who is taking on Lawyers head on. If you have been following the live court proceedings you will discover that the Lawyers like Theu and Chilenga have struggled to pin him on the issue in Court, instead they have been drifting to grammar, Economics, Statistics, Administration and Supervision. They have tried to confuse the man many ways, even being very personal and raising voices to intimidate him, but he is strong as a concrete pillar.

    1. The judges gave a break for him to refresh, was it not an issue? Mwabalalikatu Ntchito yokha anthu achi Albino yatha, iwe ndidzamanga ndekha. Zako izo. Kabibe uko.

    3. Are we following the same case? When did Alfandika take lawyers head on ?? Man, don’t insult people’s intelligence. For an elections officer to say he received no complaint from any monitor only to be shown a letter he himself signed responding to a monitor’s complaint and you call that taking a lawyer head on? This is called lying under oath and you will see what will happen to your hero at the end of this trial. Your reasoning is that of a half wit, man.

    4. Saunders, were you listening to the same testimony like the rest of us? The guy was committing perjury in court and you think that’s being “unmoveable” 🤣🤣🤣🤣. The ignorance is strong with you my brother.

    5. @SAUNDERS:
      Agreed.
      and, to be sure, Alfandika was not intimidated even by the greatest stretch of the imagination employed by the reporter. And the Court will be not be moved, even an inch, by the said profuse sweating. That is not the issue, nor is it part of the evidence.
      The reporter would be advised to stay in his lane. And, perhaps confine himself to speculations of the psychology or physiology of sweating or perspiration basi.

  13. This idiot is hiding a lot of dirt committed by the evil DPP. he knows the truth but let him not die anytime soon until he pay the price

      1. Iwe Jonas, how is this evil? He wants the person NOT to die so that he can face his crimes. How is that evil? Chizungu chakuvutani?

    3. Mr Post, Jesus sweated blood because he foresaw his own death at the Cross. Jesus died for the good cause. No matter how intelligent you might be but once caught your speech becomes coherent! We just saw sweat in the court but the trouser wet as well. You can’t defend evil, even the devil is very much aware kkkkkkkkkk.

    5. Usatchule pachabe dzina la Ambuye Mulungu wako. Zamkanila uyu Alfandika. Ngwabodza.
      MEC inalakwitsa Basi.
      Rerun apa

  17. Persistent sweating, Alfandikasis occurs when you try to hid behind less empowered and vulnerable monitors’ signitures to justify your failures.

  18. Please Con-court will you arrange for standby ambulance close to the court because at the rate things are turning out during the court proceedings we might lose a life due to cardiac arrest. Only Satan as the Bible says, is able to make and tell a total lie to sound like absolute truth, an art which our MEC and DPP witnesses have demonstrated to fall far short of mastering. Hence, there’s now a very high risk of cardiovascular failures.

    4. Nanji Muhabi Chisi will definitely need an ambulance. I can’t wait for his testimony. My god! It will be an early Christmas present.

  19. We have a major problem in Malawi. People are placed in key positions and are not really competent. ACB begin to take other government officials to court for not doing their jobs properly. Man this nation isn’t poor

    1. A good lesson to Muhabi and Munkhondia.
      Say the TRUTH you will be REDEEMED. LYING under OATH is not only legally incriminating it is morally and spiritually wrong. Umatenga nazo thembelero. Ndi izi ena mpaka near-kukomoka in court.

  21. Shame on the so called CEO of an electoral body. My grandmother would have done a better job in explaining the electoral process. I would honourably resign if I were Alfandika because not even my juniors will respect me after noting that am such alarmingly inept.

  22. Alfandika and Jane Ansah are the architecture of all this vote rigging.Let the law face them and i will be happy if they can spend the rest of their time in jail.They are dangerous to our democracy.

  23. kkkkkkkkkkkkkkkkkk i knew it coming!! ndiye sanathane naye. Amugwiranso kokodzera lero

  25. kkkkkkkk amawona ngati azake amapangila dala matha uyu. walidziwa court kuti lilibe kuti uyu ndi bwana or ndani kaya.

  26. Dzuro ndimanena kuti uyu Alfandika akunthidwe ndi mafutso eni eni ndipo am happy with u Mr Theu for the Job well done.

    Alfandika nearly fainted yesterday bcoz of his lies and Mk4billion stolen from Malawians was put to taste . Alfandika knows nothing almost about everything he was asked.

    That baby face yesterday turn to be Gogo face.

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