The man at the centre of two libel suits filed by the leader of the Opposition against GWU-owned newspapers l-Orizzont and it-Torċa, this morning took the witness stand to face questions by the plaintiff's lawyer.
The cases revolve around allegations made by the newspapers that Simon Busuttil had met Joseph Gaffarena before the last general election and demanded Daewoo papers in return for the granting of a petrol station permit, which the Gaffarena family had long been struggling to obtain.
Questioned about the meeting which allegedly took place between the witness, the Opposition leader and then minister Joseph Cassar at the PN headquarters, Mr Gaffarena gruffly remarked that he had already given his version in an affidavit before notary Mario Bugeja in August 2015.
Asked whether he recalled who was at the meeting, the witness replied “I forgot”. When it was suggested that the witness ought to be shown his own affidavit, Mr Gaffarena remarked that he could not read.
Asked whether the affidavit had been written in his presence, Mr Gaffarena replied in the affirmative adding that it had been drawn up at the notary's office. However, the witness could not recall the exact location of the office. “Possibly Zurrieq? I don't remember.”
Asked how many affidavits he drew up each year, the witness sullenly replied “I have nothing else to add.” In reply to the court's question, the witness admitted that it had been the first affidavit. “So how come you do not recall such details,” asked the counsel. “I am an old man now,” quipped the witness.
The witness explained that he had received a phone call from Dr Cassar inviting him to a meeting with Dr Busuttil. His son Marco allegedly accompanied him. Upon entering the office at the PN headquarters, Dr Busuttil had allegedly asked him for the Daewoo papers.
“They probably wanted them to get at Dalli,” the witness remarked. At the time, Mr Gaffarena was not on good terms with Mr Dalli. “Now I pity him because his wife died and she was a holy woman,” the witness declared.
The witness admitted that he was angry with the PN administration for not granting him his petrol station permit and for issuing an enforcement notice against the illegal works. “After supporting them for all those years, spending millions, giving money to the PN, that was all I got,”the witness alleged.
Mr Gaffarena stated that former PN leader Eddie Fenech Adami was honest with him, but the attitude had changed under Lawrence Gonzi and Simon Busuttil. At the meeting in question, Dr Busuttil had allegedly told him to abide by environmental and planning regulations, with reference to the extra storey erected illegally. The witness had allegedly stormed out of the meeting with his parting shot being Naf x'ghandi naghmel.
Asked whether he had expected a new PN administration to sanction the illegality, the witness replied that he used to go to MEPA on a regular basis but in spite of many promises he never got what he wanted. "They were taking me for a ride," the man angrily pointed out.
Under the new Labour government, he never went to the Planning Authority but his architect did and yet he had obtained a permit to partly operate the petrol station against a guarantee of €500,000.
Mr Gaffarena also denied having ever met Prime Minister Joseph Muscat or former Minister Michael Falzon.
Lawyer Peter Fenech was counsel to plaintiff. Lawyer Yana Micallef Stafrace was counsel to the defendant. The court was presided by Magistrate Francesco Depasquale.