Court declares UTM witness Gwalidi evidence hearsay

September 4, 2019 Owen Khamula - Nyasa Times 37 Comments

Hearing of the landmark but divisive presidential election case continues in Lilongwe with Mirriam Gwalidi, a key witness for UTM Party presidential candidate and first petitioner in the case Saulos Chilima disowning a seven-page document which she was told to read in the court.

Miriam Gwalidi: UTM Party’s key witness

During the hearing of the case on Tuesday, chairperson of the five-panel judge hearing the case, Healey Potani on behalf of panel of five judges—Redson Kapindu, Healey Potani, Dingiswayo Madise, Ivy Kamanga and Mike Tembo—declared that part of the evidence which Gwalidi provided in the court was hearsay.

This was during cross examination when lawyer for Malawi Electoral Commission (MEC) Tamando Chokotho pinned down Gwalidi on her documentary evidence during the inspection of a MEC ballot warehouse.

Gwalidi had disowned a seven-page document which she was told to read in the court which was compiled during the inspection of the ballot warehouse.

The UTM witness said she did not author the document herself prompting Chokotho to ask the court to disregard the evidence.

In his line of cross-examination, the MEC lawyer sought to solicit a confession from Gwalidi that any evidence collected during the exercise was inadequate to cast doubt on the validity of the election results.

Potani ruled in favour of Chokotho after lawyer for UTM Bright Theu protested but the Constitutional Court judge ordered that the document remains part of the sworn affidavits for record purposes.

Lawyer for UTM Khumbo Soko clarified outside the court that the said document was authored by another UTM monitor who was part of the team that inspected the MEC ballot warehouses.

Meanwhile, the MEC team have finished cross-examining Gwalidi  and lawyers of President Peter Mutharika have taken over to cross examine  the UTM witness.

MEC will cross-examine all 38 witnesses for Chilima, the first petitioner, as well as 16 witnesses for Malawi Congress Party (MCP) candidate Lazarus Chakwera, who is the second petitioner, according to Chokhotho.

Chakwera and UTM  Chilima, who came second and third with about 35 percent and 20 percent of the presidential votes, respectively, are challenging the re-election of President Peter Mutharika who won the elections with 38 percent of the vote.

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37 replies on “Court declares UTM witness Gwalidi evidence hearsay”

  1. That is not true, judges have not commented yet .The writer has just been paid by Peter’s cadets.

  2. APM WOYEEEE…….I PRAY FOR YOUR GOOD HEALTH, YOU WILL LIVE LONG..YOUR ENEMIES : CHAKWERA, CHILIMA, MTAMBO TRAPENCE ARE SLOWLY NOSE DIVING TO SELF DESTRUCTION. THESE ARE MARKS OF A BEAST, THE EVIL MASTERS OF THE LAND. GOD IS SLOWLY BUT SYSTEMATICALLY PUNISHING THEM

  3. Koma abale eh, this whole saga so far has been harsh for “HARDtalk” Chilima, the former Vice President of this country. Gwalidi wafinyidwatu apa basi. And Chilima himself did not do any better under cross examination on this same case. No evidence: Kutayisa nthawi.
    And Ms. Gwalidi’s evidence, or lack thereof, has dealt a serious body blow to Chilima’s and UTM’s case. Simple as that.
    Legal practitioners, like judges, follow legal principles and evidence; not hearsay!
    Asa.

  4. Understanding seems to be a Problem.The court said that part of the evidence from gwalid is hearsay and this is true because some of her evidence is from other monitors, in this case it is just like a rumour because she was not an eye witness in other tally centres.However, this doesn’t mean that her evidence is not strong enough.

    2. Is she not the “Principle Witness?” As the main witness in the ongoing court hearing it is pointless to talk “Za m’maluwa”. Its like the Petitioner: Dr. S. K. Chilima saying he doesn’t know why he is found in the dock and yet he is the one who called the tune. These guys should start thinking of losing the case and how they are going to pay costs toward the whole process – which obviously should be in millions. Too bad.

  7. Zoonadi mpaka pano anthu sakukhulupirilabe kut mtsogoleri ndi APM.zochititsa manyazi kwambiri pot chilungamo chafika . Mwakhara mukulenga ifa ya APM koma ayi mulungu simunthu Kapena kut chakwera munaphera.yafika nthawi yazisankho munalepheraso koma ayi ndithu osavomereza kut ndi inu oluza.palibe chabwino chomwe mungayankhure kwa Professor koma chosecho zabwino mukuziwona,,kodi kuyamikira Mesa ndikwabwino kut munthu adzilimbikira.koma ayi sazindikira kut utsogoleri ndi mphatso yamwini wake Mulungu.pano chilungamo chafika zayehova ndi pang’ono pang’ono pang’ono.

  9. The best solution is better to share the nation -and for your own information we cant bowdown to Lomwe pple came to Lilongwe through molele vehicles and their income is very low ,
    THey don’t have any cash crop whom one can think that these pple are doing fine -MBAVAMBAVA KWAO GULE FULL STOP AND SITILOLA MCHEWA AKAULIDWE NDI MLOMWE ULENDO UNO ZERO

  10. Ali nazo nazo ndalama zolipirira maloya ndi aumboni wa mmanyuzi.Zidyereni mbulizi ndipo mudziwachaja prepaid.Osawasiya ntchito ikusowa.Kumene zikuloweraku ayamba kukanukana ndi kukanirana/kuthawana.Ayamba kale.

  11. JUDGES SAY PART OF THE EVIDENCE WAS BASED ON HEARSAY AND WHAT ABOUT THE OTHER PART? AND ALSO WE CAN THAT YES BECAUSE SHE WAS GETTING THE INFO FROM UTM MONITORS ABOUT WHAT WAS HAPPENING IN THE POLLING STATIONS AS SHE WAS ASSIGNED TO LOOK AFTER MONITORS . DPP GURUS SHOULD NOT GET EXCITED NOW THEY MUST WAIT. IT IS NOT OVER TILL IT IS OVER

  12. Mwagwa nayo. The failure to provide evidence explains why Chilima, Chakwera and HRDC have resorted to violence and looting. These fools have misled so many people, degraded and abused our police. Our country is still wasting money on a pointless court case. Meanwhile, HRDC (Mtambo, Trapence and likeminded idiots are stubbornly organising more protests. This should be a big lesson to people who believed in UTM, MCP and HRDC propaganda.

  13. hi everthing is heresay, and wait for chakwera mbwerera zokhazokha, these people have nothing to say, koma they are bad losers they refuse confess kuti APM WON DE ELECTIONS you wil see people like GEORGE PHIRI AND MR THINDWA WIL SAY NOTHING EVEN ZODIAK AND TIMES WILL KEEP A LOW PROFILE ON THIS< IF IT WAS THE OTHER WAY ROUND MUNAKAONA MA HEADLINES, LOOK AT GLOBAL FANDS WHAT THEY HAVE SAID ABOUT MALAWI POSITIVE THINGS BUT ZBS, TIMES RAINBOW, CAPITAL FM KULI ZIIiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiii what a shame school me pls zbs and time is utola nkhani only about negatives of APM AND DPP BASI? WE AKASAKULA KU TIMES WAS PROMISED A DG POSITION IT ABUSA WON BUT ZAMANYAZI COZ ANALUZA AS FOR BRIAN BANDA, STOP PREACHING THE WORD OF GOD COZ UR WABODZA REMEMBER WHEN U WERE WITH JB AT STATE HOUSE WERE YOU TELLING THE TRUE? MWYIWALAetiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiii AKASAKULA I THOUGHT U WERE SAYING BAD THINGS ABOUT JB ABOUT JB COZ OOF CASHGATE ATHINDWA ANUWO SANGAKAMBEKO KANTHU AYI KOMA ANAKATI NDI APM MAYOooooooooooooooooooooooo zamanyaziIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIII atony koza mabodza okhaokha ndi rainbow yanuyosname on UUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUU A MVULA MUNABU NDALAMA KU UTM BUS COMPANY BUT NO ONE IS SAYING ANYTHING KOMA ANAKATI NDI APM BWENZI ILI NKHANI OSAMAKONDERA AYIiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiii amaria chidzanjankhoma chitani manyazi ndi zbs yanu always against boma palibe chabwino boma limachita chabwino? FREE PRESS BWANJI THE ONE UR ABUSING CHITANI MANYAZI MAYIiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiii

  16. Chilima and Chakwera plus Mtambo and his group, your honey moon will soon be over and time is come for you to dance. You thought you were clever guys, people who can disturb the whole Malawi nation into chaos. Innocent people have suffered, being beaten for no reason, their properties looted and burnt, vehicles smashed and many evil things happening whilst you were watching, celebrating and enjoying. Judgement day is coming for you to feel the same heat. Take my words, you will not be spared with this suffering.

    2. @Linda, you seem to conclude the case right? Do you know that those documents which you think they are useless in your shall mind are the ones that will open your full stomach and have mpwelele? One day mudzagwada pansi. Don’t rush insulting people like what you are doing, all days are not Sunday, those documents are in the hands of the people who went for inspection, Gwalidi has done good to disown them, that is why the judge has said, the documents will be used again! Idiot.

    2. This is what is going to happen but you can see idiotic cadets thinking like the case is over, witnesses will come to testify what they saw during inspections and those documents which Gwalidi didn’t use and or testfy about them will be the last nail of this case.

    3. A Tosh mwakwera yakuphwa. Atsogoleri azipani Zanu anakunamizani. Chiyambireni cha milandu palibe chanzeru chilichonse chimene a Chilima NDI mboni zawo anena. Kuvomereza kuluza ndi chinthu chabwino kusiyana ndikulitayitsa dziko nthawi komanso ndalama.

      1. they stand with an evidence which is those alterations with tipex, they said no tipex but they used tipexed ones. lets see it will be

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