Judge clings to Mphwiyo case

Blantyre-based High Court judge Michael Mtambo on Thursday threw out another application from the accused persons for him to stop presiding over the shooting case of former Ministry of Finance budget director Paul Mphwiyo.

Former Malawi Defence Force (MDF) soldier Macdonald Kumwembe, who is jointly charged with  conspiracy to commit murder alongside former minister of Justice and Constitutional Affairs Ralph Kasambara and businessperson Pika Manondo, accuses the judge of bias.

Kumwembe is also charged with attempted murder together with Pika Manondo during the shooting of Mphwiyo outside the gate of his Area 43 residence in Lilongwe on September 13 2013. Mphwiyo’s shooting is believed to have exposed the plunder of public resources at Capital Hill that came to be known as Cashgate.

The trio has pleaded not guilty to the charges.

In court on Thursday, Director of Public Prosecutions (DPP) Mary Kachale led the State’s charge against the accused persons’ move and eventually won the legal debate in Mtambo’s estimation.

She told the court the attempt to ask the judge to recuse himself was frivolous and linked it to “judge shopping”, a term used to refer to perceived attempts by lawyers to pick their preferred judges.

Said the DPP: “Judge shopping sometimes comes in the form of accused persons asking the judge to recuse himself. Judge shopping is an evil the Judiciary must fight [against].”

She further stated that the case was already at an advanced stage with several witnesses having already testified and the accused found with a case to answer.

“Any reasonable people would not think the judge is biased,” said the DPP.

However, the judge ruled once again that he will continue presiding over the matter and will reveal the reasons for the decision later, before adjourning the matter to December 14 and 15 2015.

Earlier, Kumwembe, whom Mphwiyo identified in court as his shooter, attached testimony by a police detective who investigated allegations that the ex-soldier had been shadowing the judge.

The accused person, who has been addressing the court in Chichewa throughout the trial and without legal presentation, further used the affidavit by a police detective and told the judge that he (the accused) knew that the judge would convict him further, citing the bail revocation as another sign of the court’s bias. n