A driver at Bambino Private Schools in Area 15, Lilongwe, Paulo Mvula told the court on Tuesday that he saw a person in the late Allan Wittika’s vehicle.
Wittika’s lifeless body was found dumped in the backseat of his motor vehicle in Area 15 residential estate in Lilongwe on September 20 2023. He was laid to rest at Misesa Cemetery in Blantyre on September 22.
Police arrested Lester Maganga, a personal assistant to Minister of Information and Digitisation Moses Kunkuyu.
He was charged with two counts of murder contrary to Section 209 of the Penal Code and that of being found in possession of ammunition without a permit. He pleaded not guilty.
Testifying as a 10th witness, Mvula said he saw the person, who wore a red shirt in the vehicle, as he was ferrying learners from Area 25 to the school on September 20 2023.
“The person was on a mobile phone. On my way from school in the afternoon, I noticed that the vehicle was still at the same spot,” he said
The driver further told the court that he looked at the vehicle for only three seconds.
Asked by the defense lawyer Lusungu Gondwe if, in three seconds he managed to all the details, including the gender of the person, Mvula answered in affirmative but said he did not manage to see the colour of the trousers the person was wearing.
High Court Judge Mzondi Mvula adjourned the case to next week when the State is expected to parade four more witnesses.
Maganga, through his lawyers filed claims that was outside the country a few days before and after the victim was killed.
Called defense of alibi, Maganga claims that he travelled to the United States on official duties on the days Wittika was murdered.
Under criminal law, an alibi is a legal defense strategy where a defendant provides evidence they couldn’t have committed the crime because they were somewhere else when the crime occurred.
Through one of his lawyers, Gonjetso Dikiya of Ritz Attorneys, Maganga said among others, several individuals can testify that he was not in the country, and there are bank transactions to confirm he accessed foreign currency for his US trip, air tickets, and phone call logs.
Further, the suspect said there is a travel agent, a Visa processing officer at the US Embassy, a driver who took him to Chileka Airport, and other individuals he met at Bole International Airport on September 25 2023 in Ethiopia on his return flight, who are ready to testify.
