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Cashgate: Lutepo hoked into Mphwiyo attempted murder case

The court has allowed prosecutors to add businessperson Osward Lutepo as a suspect in the case where five people, including former minister of Justice Ralph Kasambara, are answering charges of attempted murder and conspiracy to murder former Ministry of Finance budget director Paul Mphwiyo.

New Director of Public Prosecutions (DPP) Mary Kachale told the High Court in Lilongwe on Monday that Lutepo would be charged with conspiracy to commit murder following examination of evidence from two witness statements, including that of accused person Dauka Manondo that pointed to the involvement of Lutepo.

Mphwiyo after the adjournment on Monday
Mphwiyo after the adjournment on Monday

This means that Lutepo is facing multiple criminal charges at different courts.

He is answering theft and money laundering charges at the High Court in Zomba, perjury at the Lilongwe Magistrate’s Court and now conspiracy to commit murder before the High Court in Lilongwe.

“When I analysed the file and the evidence disclosed to the defence, it is my professional view that the totality of evidence strongly points to Osward Lutepo in the conspiracy to murder Mr Mphwiyo,” said Kachale, who has just joined the case following her appointment last month to replace Bruno Kalemba.

She cited Section 127(4) (a) Criminal Procedure and Evidence Code, which states that where two or more persons commit an offence, they may be joined or tried together.

Kachale ruled out the possibility of prejudicing Lutepo since trial had already commenced, saying the court could order that transcripts of the proceedings until this time be handed over to Lutepo’s lawyer or order the recall of the witnesses who have already appeared in court—Mphwiyo’s guard and Mphwiyo himself who is currently undergoing cross-examination.

But while not specifically objecting to the application that Lutepo joins them in the dock, Kasambara, who is representing himself, asked the court that should the application be granted, it should order that statements that Lutepo gave to police in November 2013 and January 2014 be disclosed to the defence.

“I would also like the court to order the disclosure of all correspondence between Lutepo and the Attorney General [AG] in so far as Lutepo is concerned in relation to the case he is facing in court,” Kasambara said.

But Kachale dismissed the request, describing it as a fishing expedition because she failed to see how the correspondence between Lutepo and the AG would have any bearing on the case.

After the back and forth, presiding High Court Judge Michael Mtambo granted the application and asked the prosecution to disclose all the documents asked for by Kasambara and that the lawyer for Lutepo would only be allowed to cross-examine Mphwiyo.

Earlier, Mtambo denied a request from one of the prosecutors, Enock Chibwana, that the application to join Lutepo to the case be heard in the judge’s chamber due to its sensitive nature.

Said Mtambo: “Are you saying that if the application is heard in chambers, the public will not know? I do not believe that the application should be made in chambers because of the public interest the case is generating.”

The visibly frustrated Mtambo also took to task the prosecution for delaying in serving the defence with documents as ordered by the court.

“I don’t know why we are going at this pace, honestly. I set down the case for three days, from Monday to Wednesday. Do you know the cost implication of this? We shouldn’t have been where we are,” Mtambo said.

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