On Tuesday, the state paraded four witnesses including the accused's former employees and a Malawi Immigration Department officer who works at Mwanza boarder and has worked with the Department for 31 years.

In his testimony, the immigration officer, McDonald kachule, told the court that the name of Linda Gasa suspiciously appeared on the list of people that had exited Malawi in August 2010.

The witness said the name of Gasa was only appearing on the exit schedule but it was not there on the exit card which foreign nationals exiting Malawi are supposed to sign and is attached to the exit schedule, raising suspicions that the name appeared on the exit schedule dubiously.

Another witness, Chikumbutso M'bwana, a maize miller, told the court that the accused hired him to dig a pit at a mountain which Chamthunya said he wanted to put quarry stones.

Fourth witness, Major Madondolo who was working at Chamthunya's cottage as a watchman, also told the court that in August 2010, the accused came at the cottage with a woman but later left and came back alone at night.

He further told the court that Chamthunya instructed one of his workers to gather some bricks near a house at the cottage but told him not to enter into the room.

High court judge Ruth Chinangwa then adjourned hearing of the case to Thursday 30th January 2020 from 2 o’clock in the afternoon.

On Monday 27th January, 2020, lawyer representing Chamthunya, Michael Goba Chipeta, applied for stay of trial in order to wait for Supreme Court of Appeal's decision on an appeal Chamthunya made challenging high court's denial of his application to have the case be held before the Constitutional Court.

Judge Chinangwa denied granting the stay, prompting the state to parade first witness, Jessie Kachale, sister in law to late Gasa.

Kachale told court that on 4th August 2010, the accused called the late Gasa to meet at Nyambadwe in Blantyre and later the two left for Monkey Bay in Mangochi at Chamthunya's cottage but Gasa never came back.