As witness Buluma deserts from court, will ACB’s Chizuma succeed with the NOCMA fuel contract case?
There was drama at Lilongwe Magistrate Court on Thursday when Hellen Buluma, witness in the National Oil Company of Malawi (Nocma) fuel contracts case, disappeared from being cross-examined by defence—after Anti-Corruption Bureau (ACB) director general Martha Chizuma attempt to seek an unexplained adjournment was rejected by the court.
Despite the trial of the case having already run for the past three days, and meant to continue today, Chizuma surprised the defence when, instead of allowing cross-examination to continue, she applied for adjournment, saying Buluma is not ready to continue with cross -examination and so is the state.
Buluma, former deputy chief executive officer of NOCMA and who was in the court when Chizuma was making an application, is a state witness in a case in which former presidential advisor Chris Chaima Banda and others are accused of attempting to influence award of fuel contracts at NOCMA.
Lawyers for the accused, Khumbo Soko and Wapona Kita, denied the application arguing difficult for him to respond to the application for adjournment as the State has not explained the reason why Buluma is not ready to be cross-examined.
In her ruling, magistrate Madalitso Chimwaza rejected Chizuma’s application the state had failed to provide sufficient reasons for the adjustment.
She faulted the ACB for failing to prepare the witness for cross-examination process considering the magnitude of the case and ruled that the cross-examination should continue.
Surprisingly, after the ruling, Chizuma informed the court that the witness, Buluma, had left the court premises because she is shaken and could not continue with the process.
The defense lawyers say the development undermines the whole process, adding that a witness cannot excuse herself at this “critical” stage of the case asking the court to give out relevant punishment.
Magistrate Chimwaza has since adjourned the case to a date to be decided later. Chimwaza said the adjournment was inevitable considering that the witness, Helen Buluma is not feeling well.
She highlighted that the court could not drag someone that is not feeling well to stand in court to be cross-examined.
However she has ordered the State to furnish the court with Buluma’s medical report as soon as possible for the court to map the way forward.
“We will be expecting a medical report from the State,” said Chimwaza.
She has also asked defence not to rush with an application for discharge of the suspects saying they need to wait for the next date of hearing, thereafter the defence will be at liberty to make the application if Buluma will not show up.
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