KEITH Mukata and his lover Charmaine Musonda have asked the High Court to acquit them of the murder charge where they are accused of shooting dead a security guard.

In this case, Mukata, who is Chilanga UPND member of parliament and Musonda, are charged with the murder of Namakambwa Kalilakwenda, with allegations being that they killed him on May 6, 2017.

“We end by stating that the State has lamentably failed to respond to the many issues the defence raised in their submissions and has failed to discharge the burden of proof in this case. The accussed deserve to be acquitted,” lawyers Milner Katolo and Willis Muhanga submitted in court on behalf of their clients in reply to the State’s final submissions in the matter.

They further submitted that the bulk of the prosecution evidence was not founded on any evidence on record but presumptions and conjecture as well as evidence from the ‘Bar’.

“The prosecution called witnesses and led evidence that exposed serious, malafide and dereliction of duty. This is mainly on account of suppression of evidence, tampering with evidence, execution of functions not legally warranted or mandated by law and pure malice by the investigative wing, the police,” they submitted. “The glaring incidents of dereliction of duty, coupled with clear inconsistences in the flow of the evidence, must invariably lead to acquittal of the accused persons premised on the authorities cited in the final submission.”

The accused contended that the failure by one of the prosecution witnesses to give proper feedback to lawyer Bonaventure Mutale, who testified in defence, only corroborated the assertion that other cartridges were picked from the scene of crime besides the ones produced in court.

“We invite this court to make an adverse finding that the failure to disclose and bring the cartridges in issue to court was on account of the fact that if the same were brought to court, they would completely exonerate the accused persons. We humbly invite this court to draw the inference that if the cartridges that were picked outside the wall fence were brought to court, they would have completely exonerated the accused persons,” they stated

The accused added that it was fallacious for the prosecution to require the defence to produce empty cartridges the police recovered and suppressed and which were the subject matter of the meeting between PW7 and DW2 at which PW7 gave assurances that the said empty cartridges would be included.

“How can the prosecution require or expect the defence to produce those empty cartridges which are stiff in the custody of the police?” the accused asked in there submissions.

Judgment is set for February 28.