The Lusaka High Court yesterday allowed the production of a machete grabbed from a United Party for National Development (UPND) cadre as part of evidence in the ongoing Mufumbwe Parliamentary by-election petition.
Lusaka High Court Judge Philip Musonda in his ruling after the respondents objected to the production of the exhibit said the court would allow the machete to be produced as part of evidence before the court because it was relevant to the matter.
The respondent’s lawyer Bonnaventure Mutale had raised objections to the production of the machete by a standing witness Richard Kafololo, 45, claiming that the said machete had no specific identification and that it appeared as if it had been bought from an ordinary shop.
“The witness has not adduced enough distinctive evidence, there is no basis for distinguishing it in order to completely rule out the suspecting of it being purchased. It would be safe for it not to be produced in this court,” Mr Mutale said.
In response, the petitioner’s lawyer Eric Silwamba said the witness had testified that he wrestled it from the UPND cadre and later deposited it with Chief Munyambala.
[pullquote]“The witness has not adduced enough distinctive evidence, there is no basis for distinguishing it in order to completely rule out the suspecting of it being purchased. It would be safe for it not to be produced in this court,” Mr Mutale said.
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He said the said machete was in the custody of the chief until the time when the witness was required to testify.
Mr Silwamba said the fear of buying it from an ordinary shop should be ruled out, and on the grounds of relevance, he urged the court to exercise discretion and allow the production of the machete.
In his testimony, Kafololo, an MMD member, told the court that on April 29 this year, on his way back from voting, he found his friend John Sulako arguing with a UPND cadre who said MMD was a finished party and in the process a fight erupted.
He then saw a UPND cadre brandishing a machete with intentions of stabbing Mr Sulako in his head, but Mr Kafololo quickly threw himself in between and wrestled with him until he managed to grab the machete.
In cross-examination, the witness told the court that although he had never seen a machete in his life before, he was convinced that the one before court was the same one he had deposited with the chief due to certain features he identified.
[ Zambia Daily Mail ]
I’ve resigned from the PACT. UPND and PF cadres can hack each other to pieces for all I care.
Sata and HH have let us down. They are too selfish. They cannot put their selfish ambitions aside for the sake of country. I’m deeply disappointed.
I would have thought the right thing to do was to hand over the machete to the police immediately if it is true that it was wrestled from the would-be assailant. The involvement of the chief is highly suspicious and must be thoroughly investigated, it stinks of a rotten rat.
#2 You a right. How do we know this thing was just bought recently?
#2 You are NOT right.
You assume there was a policeman in the vicinity?
Don’t you know that a chief is also an authority? You think wrongly, what do you men, ‘ if it is true that it was wrestled from the would-be assailant’? What is highly suspicious about the chief, do you know something we do not?
this is utter nonsense..silwamba is a crook…