Court has all records intact in Mphwiyo shooting, cashgate cases

There is no case for alarm. This is an assurance coming from Deputy Registrar of the High Court Justus Kishindo who has said the Judiciary has all information and records records on the shooting of Malawi’s former Ministry of Finance budget director Paul Mphwiyo and money laundering (cashgate) intact despite a court clerk claiming she has been robbed of the recorders and other documents.

On Tuesday afternoon, a High Court clerk Mrs Paida Jerewas robbed of recorders and other important court documents that contained several Cashgate cases as well as testimonies in the ongoing Mphwiyo attempted murder case.

According to Jere, the robbery took place at Crossroads complex as she left the Lilongwe High Court at lunch.

However, Kishindo explained that the court has its back up case files for Mphwiyo and cashgate cases intact in computers.

“We have gone through court records and we have verified and confirmed that all records are intact,” Kishindo said.

Kishindo said the case is going to continue up to its logical conclusion.

Judiciary spokesperson Mlenga Mvula said said the robbers got away with duplicates and the matter was reported to police the same day.

Director of Public Prosecutions (DPP) Mary Kachale said in Lilongwe that the state was facing “peculiar” circumstances.

“We might not be experts of mafia-like operations, but it looks like we are dealing with mafia-like operations,” Kachale said.

Mphwiyo shooting suspectes includes former minister of Justice and Constitutional Affairs Ralph Kasambara who  is answering charges of attempted murder and conspiracy to commit murder alongside Macdonald Kumwembe who Mphwiyo identified as the shooter, Dauka Manondo, Pika Manondo, Robert Kadzuwa and Osward Lutepo. Lutepo is yet to enter his plea while the other suspects have pleaded not guilty.

The Mphwiyo shooting case was last week adjourned to March 30 when the defence is expected to continue  cross-examining police investigator Kankwaila Chilinda who has put across damning evidence linking several of the accused persons in the shooting of Mphwiyo at the gate of his Area 43 residence on September 13 2013.