Caruana Galizia public inquiry: Former OPM official Neville Gafà says he saw concern not jubilation at Castille when Daphne was murdered
Neville Gafà tells Daphne Caruana Galizia public inquiry that he never took photos of the murdered journalist but uploaded those that were sent to him by people as pay back for what she wrote about him
Neville Gafa says that he saw no scenes of jubilation at Castille when Daphne Caruana Galizia was murdered when testifying in front of the public inquiry on Wednesday.
Gafa, who worked as a person of trust with the Office of the Prime Minister, was asked by former chief justice Joseph Said Pullicino whether anyone was happy with Caruana Galizia's death.
“I saw worry at OPM; I didn't see celebrations,” Gafa replied. In a separate statement he said that his friend Keith Schembri was "very worried" when Caruana Galizia was assassinated.
Gafa said that the rumour about Schembri suffering from terminal cancer hurt him a great deal. "Schembri's children would ask him whether he was going to die," Gafa told the inquiry.
Asked about the photos of Caruana Galizia in social settings that he constantly uploaded on his Facebook and which suggested he was trolling her, Gafa said he never took the photos himself.
The photos he explained were sent to him by other people but he had no issue with uploading them because it was his way of getting back at Caruana Galizia for her writings about him.
Gafa insisted that Caruana Galizia's writing was far worse than the photos he uploaded. "Her writing would hurt me... I also don't understand why she would take photos of my family and then write what she felt she had to write," Gafa said, blaming the journalist for his father's stroke attack.
Gafa knew that Schembri and Yorgen Fenech were friends but never was the murder, fuel smuggling or people like Melvin Theuma and Maksar mentioned by Schembri.
“As a friend of his I wouldn't ask him about this... I'd go for him on Saturday morning and we’d go for a walk for an hour, hour and a half and then go home to shower and go to work,” Gafa recounts.
Asked point blank what the motive for Caruana Galizias murder was, Gafa insisted he did not know. "I had nothing to with it," he replied.
Answering questions by Caruana Galizia family lawyer Jason Azzopardi, Gafa said he did not ask Schembri or Kenneth Camilleri - who once formed part of the prime minister's security detail - about what was being reported.
Asked by Said Pullicino whether he ever heard Schembri say something like ‘Daphne got what she deserved’, Gafa replied: “No, ma tarax, in one of the highest offices of the land.” His reply was greeted with a snort of derison from someone sitting in the public benches.
The inquiry is tasked to determine, among other things whether the State did enough to prevent the murder from happening.
Gafà was due to testify on Monday, but was told to return on Wednesday because there was a lack of time for questioning.
Gafà was allegedly involved in a Libyan medical visas racket when working as a envoy for the Office of the Prime Minister. He continued to court controversy last year when he held held unofficial meetings with a Libyan warlord, Haithem Tajouri, posing as the prime minister’s special envoy.
Asked about his role, Gafa said that he was never given a reason by Chris Fearne when his job with the health ministry was terminated and his connections in Libya helped keep migrants away from Malta and save lives at sea.
Earlier, the inquiry also heard the testimony of Nigel Vella who works in the OPM's communication office.