State Closes Chisale Attempted Murder Case

Masanjala believes Chisale has a case to answer Masanjala believes Chisale has a case to answer - pic by Happy Njalam'mano

State has finished parading eight witnesses against Norman Chisale in an attempted murder that the bodyguard of former president, Peter Mutharika, is answering in the high court in Blantyre.

Chisale is suspected to have shot Sigele Amani at Chimwankhunda in Blantyre last year with an intention to kill her.

Three final witnesses; Grace Chatsika, emergency medical specialist at Queen Elizabeth Central Hospital, Sub Inspector Nixon Mbewe, fire arms and ballistic expert at Malawi Police Headquarters and Moses Banda, a cobbler at Manja in Blantyre who was with Sigele Amani at the time of the shooting, testified yesterday.

One of state lawyers, Pilirani Masanjala, says they believe Chisale has a case to answer.

“Court has directed that state should file its submission by 26th of March, 2021. The state will be filing that the accused has a case to answer which will require him to pull up his defense. That will be the nature of what I will be filing.

“This far, as far as 26th of March is concerned, we will be making submissions that Mr. Chisale has a case to answer on the two offenses which he is charged with, including the attempted murder,” he said.

From the defense team, Chancy Gondwe does not believe that their client has a case to answer.

“There is no evidence before the court that he attempted to kill that lady. All the witnesses they brought, no one has substantiated that indeed our client wanted to kill Sigele Amani. That has not been proved by state,” he said.

The court has, therefore, set 9 AM of April 16, 2021 for ruling on whether Chisale has a case to answer or not.

Earlier in the day, Judge Sylvester Kalembera dismissed state’s application for bail revocation of Norman Chisale.

State wanted Chisale back in prison on grounds that he was interfering with state witness, Moses Banda, through phone calls.

In his ruling, however, Judge Kalembera said that state failed to establish that the accused indeed interfered with the witness.

He also stated in the ruling that the application was made at a very late stage when state had already paraded five witnesses.

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