Daphne’s son recounts her final days as prosecution closes witness list

Daphne Caruana Galizia’s son broke down in court on Thursday as he recounted his mother’s final days, her intense work on the Electrogas investigation and the last time he saw her before she was assassinated.

Andrew Caruana Galizia, the murdered journalist’s second son, was the prosecution’s final witness in the trial of Yorgen Fenech, bringing the prosecution’s witness list to a close after weeks of testimony.

Andrew told jurors that after returning to Malta in June 2017, he began seeing his mother more frequently and helped her with her investigation into Electrogas.

“This was a huge story,” he said, telling the court his mother was working up to 16 hours a day and trying to establish who owned secret Dubai company 17 Black, which had been linked to Keith Schembri and Konrad Mizzi.

Andrew said he deliberately avoided asking about his mother’s sources but had personally seen some of the leaked Electrogas emails.

He told the court his mother believed Fenech owned 17 Black and had discovered an arrangement involving New Energy Supply through which millions were to be paid in connection with the energy project.

“I saw the email leaks myself,” he said.

Andrew also testified that his mother told him she was receiving leaked Electrogas documents and had access to material from the company. Judge Edwina Grima noted that the documents themselves were not before the court.

His evidence prompted repeated objections from Fenech’s defence, which argued that Andrew was introducing opinions and new evidence.

The judge eventually ruled that Andrew, who had testified during the magisterial inquiry but not during the compilation of evidence, could only testify about facts previously given in evidence.

Andrew then turned to his mother’s behaviour shortly before her murder.

He recalled spending time at the family home in Bidnija when she told him: “They’re trying to fry me alive.”

He said his mother was barely leaving the house and had begun parking her car behind the gate, something unusual because it was difficult to park there.

“She was obviously worried about something,” he said, referring to the legal threats and harassment she faced.

Andrew became emotional as he recalled their last day together.

The day before the murder, Andrew, his wife and his mother went to a gardening festival before having lunch together.

“After lunch, she gave me a hug and said goodbye. That was the last time I saw her.”

The following day, Andrew was at work when his brother Matthew called to tell him there had been an explosion and urged him to go to Bidnija.

Andrew tried calling his mother.

“I called my mum and she didn’t answer. I didn’t know if she was dead or alive,” he told the court while sobbing.

Together with his father he drove to Bidnija, where police, ambulances and fire engines were already at the scene. He said Inspector Kurt Zahra eventually confirmed that his mother was dead.

Andrew said the family subsequently pursued legal action to remove then-deputy police commissioner Silvio Valletta from the investigation, complained about alleged leaks involving Keith Schembri and campaigned for the public inquiry into the assassination.

He said the anger following the murder gave the three brothers the energy to continue their work, although all three suffered health problems in its aftermath.