Mpinganjira denies making death threats to Mphwiyo

Former minister of information Brown Mpinganjira, popularly known as BJ, has denied that he was threatening gun-short survivor former Ministry of Finance budget director Paul Mphwiyo to make payments to companies and individuals in ‘cashgate’ affair.

Mpinganjira was subpoenaed to testify in the ongoing case of attempted murder of Mphwiyo.

The case is on a stage where former Justice Minister Raphael Kasambara SC, Pika Manondo and McDonald Kumwembe are defending themselves after the court ruled they have a case to answer.

Mphwiyo whose shooting on 13 September 2013 led to the unravelling of the systematic looting of millions of government money dubbed ‘cashgate’, told the court that  Mpinganjira warned him that Kasambara and former  People’s Party (PP) publicity secretary  Hophmally Makande, had given him “ten days to live” unless he honoured certain government payments.

But in his testimony, Mpinganjira told the court in Lilongwe on Wednesday that he never issued death threats to Mphwiyo.

He also said Kasambara never threatened Mphwiyo at any point.

Mpinganjira told the court that he knows Kasambara  – Senior Counsel – for years as a legal counsel and fellow politician.

He also knew Mphwiyo as a friend even before he was appointed budget director and that during his interactions with both he has never heard or being told by Mphwiyo that he was receiving threats.

Mpinganjira said to his best knowledge there were no threats from Kasambara to Mphwiyo in any form.

He said the statement which Mphwiyo told the court that he approached him to issue threats from Kasambara is false as he never knew of any threats.

Mpinganjira who was called as court witness told the presiding Judge Michael Mtambo that he only read in papers about the alleged threats but he knew nothing.

When Mtambo asked Mpinganjira to explain to the court how he knows Kasambara, Mpinganjira said he had known him for long time as legal counsel and recently as a politician in PP government.

And the evangelist-cum-politician told the court he knew Mphwiyo and they were still friends.

Mphwiyo’s shooting unravelled ‘cashgate’ and the resultant discovery that up to K24 billion million was minted from the government payment system, where politicians and businessmen colluded with civil servants for payments for goods and services not rendered to government.

Soon after Mphwiyo’s shooting millions of cash in Malawi kwacha, US dollars and South African rands started pitching up in unlikely places like in car trunks, baby dolls, under beds or in pillow cases.

Western donor countries and agencies reacted by freezing up to US $150 million in aid for Malawi.