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Court denies bail to man accused of killing his girlfriend
Man accused with murdering his former girlfriend is once again denied bail after allegations he could not afford to pay bail money.
4 July 2013, 12:00am
Chris Mangion
Chris Mangion
2 min read
Kenneth Gafa has again been denied bail as he is unable to put together the bail money ordered by the Magistrate.
Gafa, 39 of Marsa has been kept under preventive arrest for the past 30 months. He pleaded not guilty to the murder of his 30-year-old former girlfriend Christina Sammut on 11 December 2010 in Mgarr.
The court had granted bail against a deposit of €1,500 and a personal guarantee of €25,000. However, Gafa was not able to come up with the money.
The accused has filed numerous claims and appeals stating the court cannot keep him indefinitely under preventive arrest.
Justice Michael Mallia today upheld the decision previously taken by Chief Justice Silvio Camilleri, together with judges Giannino Caruana Curran and Noel Cuschieri. The First Hall of the Civil Court had denied the accused bail fearing Gafa could tamper with the evidence.
Gafa stated the amount of requested bail money was disproportionate and after so many months in prison he could not pay up.
Justice Mallia argued the accused had previously occupied various jobs. He worked as a bus driver and a horse trainer among other occupations but has not worked during his prison term. Nevertheless, he had failed to produce declarations of his assets showing he had no resources to pay for bail.
The accused had presented a copy of his self-assessment form to the court of magistrates, but failed to declare any property he owns or file declarations that he had no one ready to stand as his guarantor.
he court said Gafa did not give sufficient information for the court to note his financial situation. "If he never satisfied his obligations, now he cannot complain the court is being unjust," Justice Mallia said.
The constitutional court threw out Gafa's appeal. Justice Mallia concluded that, given the seriousness of the crime and the punishment it entails, the Constitutional Court deems the decisions concerning Gafa's bail, taken by the Criminal Court, as being justified.
Giannella De Marco is appearing for the accused.
Chris Mangion is MaltaToday’s photojournalist, joining the newspaper in 2013.
In 1995...
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I am so glad that the Courts are standing up to be counted. They are regaining the trust of the people and it is such judgements that help maintain that trust. Judge Michael Mallia has made the right decision based on sound judgement. As Maltese we should be thankful to the Courts when they protect the Law and the interests of its citizens and not just criticise them only on the rare occasions when someone allegedly wrongs the system.
