Mbeta delves into Suleman’s qualifications,  professional IT competence

Lawyer  Frank Mbeta representing  President Peter Mutharika who is the first respondent in the ongoing presidential elections nullification petition hearing on Wednesday morning started cross examining  Daud Suleman, who is the sixth witness for second petitioner and Malawi Congress Party (MCP) president Lazarus Chakwera, centering much on his qualifications and professional competence.

Mbeta touched on claims by Suleman, an information technology expert  (IT), that he was the first Malawian to pass the CISCO examinations in Malawi and that he has graduated from a junior to a top notch IT expert in the field.

However, Suleman agreed to the notion that he was not the first Malawian  to pass the examinations but that he was the first Malawian to do so in examinations written in the country.

Mbeta cited an example of when Suleman worked with NBS Bank in upgrading their IT system where he was heading all the process.

He alleged that after completing the work, they system was down which prompted the Reserve Bank of Malawi to fine NBS  Bank K50 million to which Suleman answered that he was not aware of the development.

“Are you aware that after that system failure, it was your junior who came to work on it?” asked Mbeta.

‘Not quiet true with a big explaination,” answered Suleman.

However, the questioning line was protested by MCP lawyer Pempho Likongwe who felt that it was against NBS’s privacy and also against the respondent’s questioning check list that was filed before the court.

Mbeta argued that he was still within his frame because everything that happened with NBS bank was in the public domain and that his questioning on Suleman’s professional competency was also within his checklist, which the court through president judge Heally Potani agreed but cautioned the lawyer to be within his lane.

Suleman has portrayed that the Malawi Electoral Commission (MEC) Result Management System (RMS) was compromised and accessed by ‘ghost’ administrators.

In the case, Chakwera alongside first petitioner and UTM Party president Saulos Chilima are seeking nullification of the presidential election results in the May 21 2019 Tripartite Elections and an order for a rerun.

The court earlier projected that it would conclude hearing the case by December 6 and that the judges would deliver their verdict within 45 days from the date.