Caruana Galizia public inquiry: 'Not firing Konrad Mizzi and Keith Schembri was a grave error' - Jose Herrera
The public inquiry into the murder of journalist Daphne Caruana Galizia continues with the testimony of Culture Minister Jose Herrera and MediaToday managing editor Saviour Balzan • Inquiry board hears how bomb makers are still out and about
7 October 2020, 1:56pm
Matthew Agius
Matthew Agius
3 min read
Caruana Galizia was murdered in a car bomb just outside her Bidnija home on 16 October 2017
Jose Herrera believes that not firing Konrad Mizzi and Keith Schembri when the Panama Papers emerged was a “grave error”.
The Culture Minister was testifying in the public inquiry into the murder of Daphne Caruana Galizia on Wednesday.
However, Herrera defended his decision to tag along with the rest of the Labour Party parliamentary group in May 2016 and support Mizzi in a motion of no confidence that came before parliament.
“In the case in question, good or bad, there was no prerogative to vote without parliamentary discipline. I could have chosen to vote against and resign. But I felt that by resigning I would lose my voice and I felt that it was more appropriate to have this capability. You can positively influence government from this position. This had happened in the past,” Herrera testified.
Asked by lawyer Jason Azzopardi what had changed from May 2016 to June 2020, when Konrad Mizzi was kicked out of the party, Herrera said the backstory had changed.
“There was scope for punishment. In the last weeks and months of last year, things didn't remain mere conjecture but evidence emerged. Evidence isn't guilt, it is something which leads to the finding of guilt. After that episode things which were once conjecture became evidence which could be used against certain people,” Herrera replied.
On former prime minister Joseph Muscat, the minister said that he had positive aspects but towards the end he made certain mistakes and paid the ultimate political price.
“On a personal level, I would work well with him [Muscat]... but the fact that he didn't fire Konrad Mizzi and Keith Schembri when he should have, was a grave error,” Herrera said.
Herrera was reluctant to speak of confidential matters discussed in Cabinet other than matters that were in the public domain, insisting the inquiry board could not fault him for this.
“If you remove the confidentiality you remove the solemnity of the institution,” he insisted.
Asked about the private security detail he had contracted last December, Herrera said the political climate was tense and the measure was a pre-emptive move to avoid escalation.
He refused to say whether he took the decision to contract private security after the heated Cabinet meeting of 28 November that discussed the pardon for Yorgen Fenech but insisted if he had received any threats he would have referred the matter to the police.
Bomb makers still out and about
The second person to testify was MediaToday managing editor Saviour Balzan, who noted that the bomb makers involved in the Caruana Galizia assassination were still running outside.
“They had three bombs, and have used two. Who is going to protect us? I understand journalists' reluctance to publish certain stories. Independent media houses are working together on stories now,” Balzan told the inquiry when asked about protection offered to journalists.
The people identified as the bomb makers in testimony given during the compilation of evidence against Yorgen Fenech had been arrested in December 2017 but released without charge.
In the previous sitting, businessman and entrepreneur Mark Gasan testified that Yorgen Fenech denied 17 Black was his when confronted.
The public inquiry into the murder of journalist Daphne Caruana Galizia is tasked with, amongst other things, determining whether the State did all it could to prevent the murder from happening.
Caruana Galizia was murdered in a car bomb just outside her Bidnija home on 16 October 2017.
Three men, George Degiorgio, Alfred Degiorgio and Vince Muscat, have been charged with carrying out the assassination, while Yorgen Fenech is charged with masterminding the murder.
Melvin Theuma, who acted as a middleman between Fenech and the three killers, was granted a presidential pardon last year to tell all.
The inquiry is led by retired judge Michael Mallia and includes former chief justice Joseph Said Pullicino and Judge Abigail Lofaro.
16:59 That's all for today. Thank you for following.
Kurt Sansone
16:58 Balzan steps off the witness stand. The inquiry now continues on Friday at 9:30am.
Kurt Sansone
16:58 Asked about SLAPP – law suits filed in foreign jurisdictions in a bid to cripple the media, Balzan says that he has experienced such instances for over 20 years. “The cardinal point is that the financial institutions are protected. If you leak a bank document abroad you end up in prison, like happened to the editor who published the Luxleaks. When we get these type of stories, we generally withdraw… In the revised press laws after the Chris Cardona garnishees, there was a legal framework proposed by the lawyers of the Times and MaltaToday, which included a suggestion that was not implemented - mediation before libel cases. If there are genuine mistakes, these should be rectified. If there is an intentional falsehood, then there should be consequences. Today because of the fear of what happened, journalists are afraid to write about them. We know many stories about people in crime but we don't write about them because there is a real fear about them running around in public.”
Kurt Sansone
16:52 Balzan: “Today I want to believe there are no persons who are willing to do these things. Things have to change. Investigations need to be more transparent. Obstacles are found with every government. In the present administration, I don't think there are people who would be prepared to do such things but intrinsically every government is not transparent. In other countries, it is in the public domain that there is a criminal investigation about a person. In Malta, it isn't. At the moment, the independent media is dependent on government advertising. COVID-19 measures did not help the media sector. It is an existential crisis and there doesn't seem to be political will to address it.”
Kurt Sansone
16:49 He is asked about government transparency.
Kurt Sansone
16:48 Asked about protection for journalists, Balzan says that the people who made the bomb [that killed Caruana Galizia] are still running around. “They had three bombs, and have used two. Who is going to protect us? I understand journalists' reluctance to publish certain stories. Independent media houses are working together on stories now,” Balzan says.
Kurt Sansone
16:43 Balzan: “The PM had called me to try and convince me about Egrant. I listened to him... I told him I found it very difficult to believe but that I gave him the benefit of the doubt. Daphne was not on solid ground. Today, I believe that Daphne Caruana Galizia caught the Egrant story right at the time when it was about to be closed and when we would have had evidence. Joseph Muscat had sworn on his children that it was all a fairy tale. Thank goodness for Daphne’s emphasis on Pilatus Bank.”
Kurt Sansone
16:39 Balzan says that MaltaToday had said after Panamagate broke out that Konrad Mizzi was not fit for purpose several times.
Kurt Sansone
16:38 Balzan: “When he [Keith Schembri] had called me late at night, he had passed me on to the prime minister… it was about the Egrant affair. Daphne Caruana Galizia didn't mention that he had also called Michela Spiteri (a columnist with The Sunday Times of Malta).”
Kurt Sansone
16:35 He says that his call logs were sent to her by what he believes were the Security Services.
Kurt Sansone
16:34 Balzan: “I had denied it and then taken it back. I feel a bit disturbed if not offended as to being asked this question... I must reveal now that I came here twice and gave testimony freely. Daphne Caruana Galizia and I had a very bad relationship. I used to criticise her harshly but I wouldn't get into her personal issues. There were a series of stories on me, my wife, my deceased wife… What is wrong with an editor speaking to a chief of staff? In my career I have spoken to every chief of staff.”
Kurt Sansone
16:30 The board asks Balzan about logs mentioned by Daphne Caruana Galizia with calls between him and the prime minister’s chief of staff. “Is it true?”
Kurt Sansone
16:29 Balzan is managing editor of MediaToday, a media company.
Kurt Sansone
16:29 Herrera steps off the stand. The next witness is Saviour Balzan.
Kurt Sansone
16:28 Herrera: “He was assuming political responsibility for the problems... the fact that his chief of staff was under arrest, the arrest of a prominent businessman who had ties to government.”
Kurt Sansone
16:27 Said Pullicino asks whether the PM had mentioned why he was leaving.
Kurt Sansone
16:27 Herrera: “It is very wise to change it. In principle, every party... should have autonomy from influence.”
Kurt Sansone
16:26 Azzopardi asks about State financing of political parties. Does Jose Herrera believe the political system of financing of parties should be changed?
Kurt Sansone
16:25 Herrera: “No.”
Kurt Sansone
16:25 Azzopardi: “Did the prime minister show any surprise or shock at being named as a defence witness in a murder?”
Kurt Sansone
16:24 Herrera: “No.”
Kurt Sansone
16:24 Azzopardi points out that in September 2019, the media mentioned that Vince Muscat il-Koħħu had indicated as witnesses in his defence Joseph Muscat, Keith Schembri and Owen Bonnici. “This was a historical first. Were you given a reason for this?”
Kurt Sansone
16:22 Herrera: “When the PM leaves a cabinet meeting, the practise is that the Deputy PM assumes his role. I am to understand that Chris Fearne therefore took over the role in this capacity. I did not know about Keith Schembri sending messages to people at the meeting. I know that Inspector Keith Arnaud, the police commissioner and the Attorney General were summoned to enter.”
Kurt Sansone
16:20 He is asked on the cabinet meeting of 28 November 2019 when Yorgen Fenech’s pardon was discussed and Joseph Muscat pulled out of that meeting.
Kurt Sansone
16:19 Herrera: “What I can say is that the pardon given to Melvin Theuma was never on the Cabinet's agenda.”
Kurt Sansone
16:17 Azzopardi asks whether Cabinet was given an explanation as to why the Melvin Theuma pardon was not discussed in Cabinet but Yorgen Fenech’s was.
Kurt Sansone
16:10 Herrera: “The backstory had changed. There was scope for punishment. In the last weeks and months of last year, things didn't remain mere conjecture but evidence emerged. Evidence isn't guilt, it is something which leads to the finding of guilt. After that episode things which were once conjecture became evidence which could be used against certain people. Joseph Muscat had a positive aspect... but in the end, he made certain mistakes which he acknowledged himself and paid the ultimate political price. On a personal level, I would work well with him... but the fact that he didn't fire Konrad Mizzi and Keith Schembri when he should have, was a grave error.”
Kurt Sansone
16:08 Azzopardi: “In your opinion, what changed from May 2016 to June 2020 with regards to Konrad Mizzi?”
Kurt Sansone
16:07 Herrera: “Let me be honest with you. I don't think it was an item on a cabinet agenda, but I don't remember.”
Kurt Sansone
16:06 Lawyer Jason Azzopardi asks whether the controversy surrounding the clearing of the Daphne Caruana Galizia memorial was internally discussed by the government.
Kurt Sansone
16:05 Herrera declines to comment on whether this was after the six-hour cabinet meeting.
Kurt Sansone
16:04 She asks again about his personal security. Herrera reiterates that the circumstances at the time were such that there was tension in the country and lack of security. “You don't know how things are going to develop. I felt I should be proactive and get this detail,” Herrera says.
Kurt Sansone
16:02 Comodini Cachia asks what institution he thinks should bear political responsibility to clean up the government, but is overruled. “This will be decided by the board,” she is told by the inquiry board.
Kurt Sansone
16:01 The minister insists that whoever acted incorrectly, must answer for himself.
Kurt Sansone
16:00 Herrera argues with Said Pullicino: “I cannot be presumed guilty because I don't want to disclose information which is confidential. Certain things fall under the parameters of confidentiality.”
Kurt Sansone
15:57 Herrera: “I am a person who believes that the institutions should act autonomously. I would presume that you had the institutions which function and should move the issue along.”
Kurt Sansone
15:57 Comodini Cachia asks him whether he felt the responsibility to request resignations or responsibility.
Kurt Sansone
15:51 “I had heard it said that the PM was betrayed by persons close to him and they were right,” he adds.
Kurt Sansone
15:50 Herrera says the Panama Papers revelations had “worried him immensely”.
Kurt Sansone
15:48 Herrera says that he was aware of Yorgen Fenech's involvement in the murder when the businessman was arrested… At one point in time, towards the end, there was a suspicion of his involvement. “It does not mean that a rumour is not true but there was no substantial evidence then,” he tells the inquiry.
Kurt Sansone
15:44 Herrera: “The presentation seemed to have been prepared by technical experts due to the details it delved in. We had no clue who prepared it.”
Kurt Sansone
15:44 Comodini Cachia asks about the presentation before the 2013 election on the power station.
Kurt Sansone
15:41 Herrera: “When the presidential pardon for Yorgen Fenech was discussed, Keith Schembri wasn't present and the PM had absented himself from the meeting. This is public knowledge. The matter was discussed exhaustively.”
Kurt Sansone
15:37 Comodini Cachia: “If the judges aren't going to have a reply on whether 17 Black and Yorgen Fenech were discussed at Cabinet level, they will conclude that someone wasn't doing their job.”
Kurt Sansone
15:37 Said Pullicino argues that if there is a relevant fact said in Cabinet, it had to be disclosed to the inquiry.
Kurt Sansone
15:33 Herrera refuses to be drawn on anything discussed in Cabinet, other than that which is in the public domain. “If you remove the confidentiality you remove the solemnity of the institution,” he insists.
Kurt Sansone
15:32 Herrera says that Konrad Mizzi was not one of his close friends or colleagues. “Our relationship was professional,” he says.
Kurt Sansone
15:32 Herrera: “When you are a minister, the aspect of communications is very important… he is one of the busiest people in your secretariat. It could be that another person was needed to deal with the workload. I can say that I never ever saw anything done incorrectly.”
Kurt Sansone
15:28 Asked about OPM appointments in ministries, Herrera says it seemed “sinister and suspicious” on paper, but it was aimed at having better coordination. “The system is no longer in use. Today every minister has his own communications coordinator. At the time, Kurt Farrugia was head of communications at OPM,” Herrera says.
Kurt Sansone
15:23 Herrera says the PM always showed him a certain level of courtesy. “He would field my calls and set up meetings, I don't know if that makes me a confidante. I didn't have that intimate personal friendship which he had with other persons.”
Kurt Sansone
15:21 Herrera: “I felt his chief of staff was highly trusted, and Konrad Mizzi was entrusted with major projects of national importance. I reached the conclusion that Konrad Mizzi was a confidante of the PM at the time. Other people, I'm not in a position to say.”
Kurt Sansone
15:20 Comodini Cachia: “When the board asked about the kitchen cabinet, you said that the PM had confidantes and people close to him. You named one person, who are the others?”
Kurt Sansone
15:18 Lawyer Therese Comodini Cachia stands up to ask her questions.
Kurt Sansone
15:16 Herrera: “Naturally, my reaction was shock. It is disgusting and unacceptable, one of the worst things that our country has experienced. The attitude of my colleagues was as I have just described.”
Kurt Sansone
15:15 After the assassination, what was the reaction in Cabinet like, asks Said Pullicino.
Kurt Sansone
15:14 Asked about his personal security arrangements, Herrera says that there was a certain climate in the country and to be proactive and avoid futile incidents, he opted to have private security. “Why private? Had I had a direct threat against myself or my family I would have used the police, but this was not the case. It was a precaution,” he says.
Kurt Sansone
15:09 Prodded by the board, Herrera says he cannot say what sort of power Schembri had. “You would have to ask the former Prime Minister,” he exclaims.
Kurt Sansone
15:07 Herrera: “Could he have been there? Yes. Could he have been in another office? Yes. But he was never in the cabinet room when I was there. I wasn't so close to Keith Schembri. His role isn't a constitutional position. This is not the Principal Permanent Secretary. It only emerged later that he was a business associate of Fenech.”
Kurt Sansone
15:05 Herrera says that on Yorgen Fenech he only knows what is in the public domain. Asked whether he had seen Fenech at Castille, Herrera says that he attends there once a week and if he had seen Fenech he wouldn't have recognised him.
Kurt Sansone
15:04 Herrera: “When 17 Black's owner was revealed, that was the beginning of a rollercoaster. After the Panama Papers there was such an uproar that the PM decided to speak to us individually.”
Kurt Sansone
15:02 Said Pullicino: “Everywhere else in the world the Panama Paper caused an earthquake except in Malta. Then there was 17 Black...”
Kurt Sansone
15:02 “I knew only what was in the public domain... we never had a statement or a presentation from an official telling us that we had these problems,” Herrera explains.
Kurt Sansone
15:01 Chief justice emeritus Said Pullicino remarks that Herrera was among the most vociferous during the cabinet meeting late last year. “When certain persons were arrested, Cabinet reacted the way which was morally correct,” he says.
Kurt Sansone
15:00 Herrera says he could have chosen to vote against and resign. “But I felt that by resigning I would lose my voice and I felt that it was more appropriate to have this capability. You can positively influence government from this position. This had happened in the past.”
Kurt Sansone
14:59 Herrera: “In the case in question, good or bad, there was no prerogative to vote without parliamentary discipline.”
Kurt Sansone
14:58 He is asked why MPs had given Konrad Mizzi a unanimous vote of confidence.
Kurt Sansone
14:55 Herrera says he is one who believes in the institutions. “By and large they delivered justice. I have blind faith in the courts... the auditor general,” Herrera says. He continues that the NAO should be given due importance. “But I am not here to defend anyone,” he insists.
Kurt Sansone
14:53 Herrera is asked about Malta's golden passport scheme. He says that there was a promise in the electoral manifesto to make an effort to increase financial investment in Malta. He reminds the board that Malta's manufacturing potential had been reduced. “I don't think it would be wise for the country to abrogate such schemes. What was wrong was its implementation, but it would not be a good idea to scrap it.”
Kurt Sansone
14:52 Asked about the American University of Malta, Herrera says that as far as he could recall the AUM was not part of the electoral manifesto but the government was not limited by the manifesto. “As minister for the environment, my reservations were mostly environmental. It was not my ministerial interest to know who was behind the project. The AUM was at the time a controversial project due to its environmental impact. I did not have the information which later emerged in the public domain.”
Kurt Sansone
14:47 Herrera: “I had said that given the delicate nature of the situation, the minister in question and the OPM chief of staff should resign.”
Kurt Sansone
14:47 The minister is asked what he had told Joseph Muscat.
Kurt Sansone
14:46 Herrera: “I discovered about this through the media. There was a reaction, rather passive, by politicians of both sides. At a point in time the PM decided to speak to us one by one and asked how he should react in the circumstances.”
Kurt Sansone
14:45 Judge Abigail Lofaro interjects: “Like at the time of the Panama Papers? What happened when the Panama Papers scandal broke?”
Kurt Sansone
14:44 Herrera says ministers are policy makers not managers. “Cabinet is not a management team or 15 CEOs… I already stated that at a period there was lack of harmony in the Cabinet, unlike now.”
Kurt Sansone
14:42 Herrera: “The minister assumes responsibility for his ministry's actions in good faith. If the actions are done in bad faith then... I don't remember being made aware of the MOU. Projects Malta was assigned to a particular minister. How portfolios are assigned is the PM's prerogative. Cabinet had a memo before it, one assumes that it was in good faith. Then responsibility has to be taken by those who have to shoulder it. Who was in bad faith must answer for his own actions.”
Kurt Sansone
14:40 He is asked whether he was aware of the memorandum of understanding that had been signed between some of the VGH investors and Malta Enterprise before government had even issued the call for expressions of interest.
Kurt Sansone
14:39 Asked about the preferred bidder chosen for the hospitals deal, Herrera says Cabinet did not enter into the issue of the preferred bidder.
Kurt Sansone
14:38 Herrera: “If I remember correctly, Konrad Mizzi and the minister responsible for health.”
Kurt Sansone
14:37 The board asks who gave the presentation.
Kurt Sansone
14:37 Herrera: “The policy was that we needed this investment and the government held that the way forward was to involve the private sector as much as possible. This was the presentation we were given.”
Kurt Sansone
14:37 Questions now turn to the VGH hospitals deal.
Kurt Sansone
14:36 Herrera politely refuses to answer a question about the tender process. He confirms that after the presentation, a call for public interest was issued within a few weeks.
Kurt Sansone
14:36 Herrera says he is willing to collaborate with the inquiry as far as the law and ethics allowed him to do. “I feel I would be breaching this by giving certain details. From what is in the public domain the privatisation issue emerged early on,” he says.
Kurt Sansone
14:34 “One of the electoral promises was to fix this situation… At one point in time, a then newly-confirmed PL candidate presented the project. That candidate was Konrad Mizzi,” Herrera says. “It was quite clear that the way forward was to partially privatise the energy sector.”
Kurt Sansone
14:32 Responding to a question from chief Justice emeritus Joseph Said Pullicino, the minister says that before the 2013 election, the energy sector was a subject the Labour Party gave great importance to, both for environmental reasons and for political ones. He says Enemalta was on the verge of financial collapse and the country depended on heavy fuel oil.
Kurt Sansone
14:29 Asked about the issue of the bank guarantee, Herrera says that the extension was discussed in Cabinet in relation to the issue that arose due to state aid. A bridge loan was discussed, he says. The witness points out that he is just confirming reports already in the public domain as he cannot reveal what was discussed at Cabinet level.
Kurt Sansone
14:23 The minister adds that the shareholders in the project were not discussed at Cabinet level either.
Kurt Sansone
14:22 Herrera explains that when a memo is sent to Cabinet, this has to be concise. The transition to a gas-fired power station was an electoral promise, he adds. “As far as I remember, the bid was not analysed at Cabinet level,” he says.
Kurt Sansone
14:22 Mallia asks about cabinet instructions. “Was the Electrogas deal presented as a fait accompli?”
Kurt Sansone
14:21 Herrera: “Firstly our system is a parliamentary democracy and therefore the only power is vested in the ministers. This doesn't exclude the fact that the prime minister may have had friends. I am convinced that the prime minister had people closer to him than others. Although the PM is primus inter pares, he is also the head of the executive government... sometimes when I would have meetings with the PM he would have some of these people with him. But the only person who can really answer this is the ex-PM himself. Keith Schembri was a personal confidante of the PM. He would be present when I had personal meetings with the PM. How much the chief of staff influenced the prime minister you'd have to ask the prime minister.”
Kurt Sansone
14:17 Mallia points to Herrera's long history in the government front bench. “There have been some ministers who gave us a description of meetings outside Cabinet, the so-called kitchen cabinet. Did you know about it?”
Kurt Sansone
14:15 The judges have emerged and the first witness, Culture Minister Jose Herrera is called to the stand. He is administered the oath.
Kurt Sansone
14:00 We're back in court where the inquiry board into the murder of Daphne Caruana Galizia is holding its sittings.
Kurt Sansone
13:59 Good afternoon.
Kurt Sansone
Matthew Agius was Senior Reporter on Law and Court Affairs at MaltaToday from 2014 to 2024...
