State witness in Mzimba manslaughter case says Tadikira Mutharika was not involved
In the ongoing aggravated manslaughter and trafficking in persons case involving former first lady Gertrude Mutharika’s son Tadikira Mafubza, the last State witness William Phiri has admitted that Mafubza was not involved in the hiring of his Scania truck used to ferry 30 unidentified Ethiopians into Mtangatanga Forest.
Phiri who is the lead investigator in the case also agreed with the defence during cross-examination that apart from ownership of the Scania truck, Mafubza had no other dealings with the other accused persons including the driver of the vehicle Samuel Navaya.
But Phiri acknowledged what the defence had said that call logs were important to the case to ascertain if Navaya had called Mafubza during the “material time” in the forest since it was previously alleged in court that Mafubza had ignored his driver’s calls.
In further cross-examination, the witness also agreed with a question from the defence, saying it was “very possible” for drivers to run errands without the knowledge of their bosses.
Tadikira and four other were arrested last year in November in connection to death of 30 Ethiopians who bodies were found in Mzimba.
