The state’s key witness in the Norman Chisale certificate case has been accused of lying in court.
The witness Pythias Hiwa on Monday testified against the former presidential aide in a case in which Chisale is accused of using Hiwa’s certificate to join the Malawi Army.
But after Hiwa presented his testimony, Chisale’s lawyer said the witness was lying.
One of the lies Hiwa told the court is that Chisale in 2012 wore his uniform and threatened him in Lilongwe.
However, Chisale’s lawyer Chancy Gondwe said Chisale retired from the Malawi Army in 2008 and returned his uniform to the MDF at the same time.
Gondwe further accused the state’s key witness of providing contradicting statements having noted that Hiwa never reported the intimidation to Malawi Police until this year.
Hiwa also claimed that Chisale took his Junior Certificate of Education (JCE) from his home village in 1996 – a claim which Hiwa heard from his brother because Hiwa was not at the village that time.
He further claimed that Chisale used the certificate to secure a job with the army – a claim which Hiwa heard from another relative who was working in the army.
Hiwa confirmed in court that he never lodged a complaint with the Malawi Police over the certificate issue since 1996 when the certificate was supposedly taken from him.
Despite there being no complaint from Hiwa, the state is prosecuting Chisale something that has puzzled one of the country’s highly revered law experts who spoke to Malawi24.
“This is very strange and the first time in my practice I have heard of a matter which commenced without a complaint,” the lawyer said.
Within some quarters of the society, there are fears that Chisale is being persecuted by the administration of President Lazarus Chakwera.
