Self-confessed Daphne Caruana Galizia murder middleman Melvin Theuma is set to return to the witness stand on Monday afternoon after a six-month absence following a ‘self-harm’ incident in July.
Theuma was found in his Swieqi apartment with stab wounds to his neck and torso last summer on the eve of testimony he was meant to give in the compilation of evidence against murder suspect Yorgen Fenech.
He was only cleared by psychiatrists last week to testify in a separate compilation of evidence against the three men accused of placing and triggering the explosive device used to assassinate the journalist, in Bidnija, in October 2017.
The middleman has faced increasing attacks on the credibility of his testimony, with Fenech’s defence team leading the charge.
Theuma was given immunity from prosecution in November 2019 in exchange for his testimony about how Yorgen Fenech allegedly ordered the investigative journalist’s killing.
Fenech denies any involvement in the assassination.
Theuma’s evidence includes secretly recorded conversations with Fenech taken after the bombing, where they discuss the murder and the subsequent attempts to cover up their role in it.
Questions remain about the potential involvement of former OPM chief of staff Keith Schembri prior to the murder.
In a bid to also gain immunity from prosecution, Fenech first tried to pin the plot on former economy minister Chris Cardona, before claiming it was Schembri who masterminded the killing and orchestrated the frame-up attempt on Cardona.
Evidence suggests that Schembri was indeed involved in feeding Fenech information about the police investigation after the assassination, though he can only be charged with complicity if evidence surfaces of his involvement prior to the murder.
Schembri denies any wrongdoing. Investigations into whether he was behind the leaks, including from the security services, which is in itself a criminal offence, have not yet led to charges.
Recordings, purportedly taken by Dutch scammer Julian Hofstra, appear to play up Theuma’s concerns that Schembri wanted to kill him after the journalist’s assassination.
Times of Malta had reported how Theuma had written a letter implicating both Fenech and Schembri in the murder.
Theuma has gone on to claim in court that he only assumed Schembri was involved in the plot as Fenech used to say the former OPM chief of staff was feeding him information about the police probe and protecting him.
In one recording taken by the middleman, Fenech tells him that Schembri “froze” when he learned that the business magnate was behind the killing.
Fenech, who was a good friend of Schembri, has claimed he played down the OPM’s chief of staff’s involvement in the plot to Theuma so as not to expose him to the middleman.
As part of his failed attempt to gain immunity from prosecution, Fenech had told investigators he could help unravel government corruption on major projects, including the building of the Electrogas power station.
Fenech resigned as an Electrogas director shortly before his arrest.
Leaked documents have shown how Schembri and former energy minister Konrad Mizzi were set to receive up to €2 million from Fenech’s company 17 Black through secret offshore structures revealed in the Panama Papers.