Friday's sitting in the trial of Yorgen Fenech was dominated by explosive testimony from two witnesses, with Johann Cremona accusing one of the defence lawyers of meeting Keith Schembri on the eve of the former chief of staff's testimony, and former OPM security officer Kenneth Camilleri claiming that when he sought a meeting with then-prime minister Joseph Muscat over his encounter with Melvin Theuma, Muscat cut him short, telling him: "It's best that I don't know."

Yorgen Fenech, a businessman, has pleaded not guilty to two principal charges: complicity in the wilful homicide of Daphne Caruana Galizia and criminal association to commit the murder. 

Caruana Galizia, a columnist with The Malta Independent, was killed in a car bomb on 16 October, 2017.

Cremona's cross-examination by the defence initially focused on Kenneth Camilleri, the former member of Joseph Muscat's security detail, and the meetings he held with murder middleman Melvin Theuma during the summer of 2018.

Cremona confirmed he knew Camilleri through his father but denied that Keith Schembri had ever phoned him to inform him that Camilleri would be visiting. He said Schembri had approached him at a time when businessman Yorgen Fenech was no longer answering his calls.

The defence then referred to secretly recorded conversations made by Theuma, suggesting that Keith Schembri's name had not been mentioned during one of the exchanges. Cremona insisted that Theuma had always maintained Kenneth Camilleri had been sent by Schembri to calm him down and said he had no reason to contradict him.

Cremona rejected suggestions that he had attempted to turn Theuma against Fenech, insisting he had never been against the accused and that Theuma frequently approached him whenever he could not reach Fenech.

The defence also questioned Cremona about discussions concerning bail for the Degiorgio brothers. Jurors heard another of Theuma's recordings in which references were made to bail and money. Cremona maintained that, at the time, he was merely recounting what Theuma had told him rather than describing events he had personally witnessed. He said Theuma had been depressed and difficult to deal with.

He later recalled accompanying Camilleri and Theuma during meetings in Valletta and said he overheard discussions about bail and money, although he insisted he still had no knowledge that Theuma had been involved in the murder of Daphne Caruana Galizia.

Describing another meeting in Valletta, Cremona said he heard Theuma angrily shouting that someone should arrange bail for the Degiorgio brothers and provide each of them with "a bag of cash" so they could escape. He said it was only after several meetings that he realised something serious was unfolding, although he still did not understand the full picture at the time.

The defence later suggested that Theuma himself had been uncertain whether Fenech was genuinely involved in the murder or whether the Degiorgio brothers were exploiting him financially.

Jurors also heard another secretly recorded conversation in which Theuma was heard saying he intended to pressure former prime minister Joseph Muscat through Parliament by involving then Opposition leader Simon Busuttil in seeking a presidential pardon.

Attention then shifted to messages exchanged between Cremona and Keith Schembri.

Defence lawyer De Marco suggested the two men had been acting "like a team" when discussing whether they should testify because they believed lead investigator Keith Arnaud was targeting them.

Cremona rejected the suggestion, insisting he had merely informed Schembri that he had initially denied knowing anything before recordings began emerging. He denied discussing testimony with Schembri and said he had simply asked whether Schembri intended to testify.

Questioned directly by Judge Edwina Grima as to why he had been discussing the case with Schembri, Cremona replied that he had nobody else to talk to before adding: "Keith Schembri was involved in everything."

As cross-examination continued, Cremona became increasingly confrontational.

After sarcastically dismissing suggestions that he and Schembri were close friends, he denied contacting the former chief of staff because he believed he remained influential, noting that Schembri had resigned when the case erupted.

The atmosphere inside the courtroom deteriorated dramatically: Addressing defence lawyer Charles Mercieca directly, Cremona accused him of sending messages to Keith Schembri while representing Yorgen Fenech.

He then produced a folded sheet of paper from his pocket, claiming it contained a screenshot of messages sent by Schembri. Cremona told the court he had brought the document with him that morning. He further alleged that, for months, attempts had been made through sections of the media to "break" him.

Moments later, Cremona escalated matters further by alleging that Mercieca had met Keith Schembri at Schembri's office near the Turkish embassy on the eve of Schembri's testimony.

Judge Grima repeatedly ordered Cremona to calm down, warning him he risked being held in contempt of court.

The confrontation prompted Judge Grima to appoint court expert Martin Bajada to examine the document. Mercieca objected, arguing that such material could not be introduced in open court.

Following heated exchanges, Cremona's testimony came to an end and the jurors were temporarily ushered out.

The court then heard from former police officer Kenneth Camilleri, who served in the police force between 1994 and 2013 before joining the Office of the Prime Minister as part of Joseph Muscat's security detail.

Camilleri testified that one evening during the summer of 2018 he received a telephone call from then-chief of staff Keith Schembri, who instructed him to contact Johann Cremona so the two could go and "calm someone down". Assuming the matter concerned a disgruntled Labour Party supporter, Camilleri said he followed the instructions without asking questions, explaining that it was not unusual for Schembri to assign him such tasks.

Camilleri said Schembri specifically instructed him to telephone Cremona and ask him to collect him. Although he never mentioned Melvin Theuma by name, he found it curious that Cremona appeared to know exactly where they were heading. Once they arrived, Cremona phoned Theuma, who walked over to the car appearing agitated and panicked.

According to Camilleri, Theuma quickly got to the point, asking whether "something could be done" to secure bail for the Degiorgio brothers. The witness told jurors he was shocked by the request, particularly given the seriousness of the charges the brothers were facing. He said Theuma repeatedly returned to the subject as they walked together, while Cremona remained seated inside the vehicle. Camilleri eventually gave what he described as a non-committal response simply to end the conversation, insisting he never believed Schembri had the authority to secure anyone's release on bail.

The witness said he immediately tried to contact Schembri by telephone after hearing the request, telling him he needed to speak to him. However, Schembri replied that he was in a meeting before ending the call. Camilleri testified that he later attempted on several occasions to raise the matter again but was repeatedly told that Schembri was unavailable.

A few days later, Camilleri said he went unannounced to Cremona's garage because he wanted to know where he had taken him that evening. While waiting there, he unexpectedly came face to face with Theuma for a second time. He recalled Theuma appearing as panicked as during their earlier meeting and immediately warned him not to approach him before walking away. The encounter lasted only a few seconds, he said, adding that Theuma did not raise the issue of bail during that exchange.

When proceedings resumed after the lunch break, Kenneth Camilleri remained on the witness stand as prosecutors resumed questioning him about his dealings with Keith Schembri and the events that followed his meeting with Melvin Theuma.

Camilleri told jurors that after repeatedly failing to get hold of Schembri, he eventually tried another route, asking former Office of the Prime Minister official Neville Gafà to pass on messages on his behalf. He said he would either speak to Gafà in person or send him WhatsApp messages, hoping Schembri would eventually contact him. By that stage, however, his relationship with Schembri had effectively broken down.

The witness said his mental state had deteriorated significantly following his encounters with Theuma, to the extent that he had largely stopped reporting for work. About a month after his last meeting with Theuma, he decided he needed to take the matter further and contacted then-prime minister Joseph Muscat's personal assistant in the hope of securing a meeting with the prime minister himself.

Camilleri testified that Muscat's head of communications, Kurt Farrugia, later approached him to ask why he wanted to meet the prime minister. He refused to disclose the details, insisting he would only speak directly to Muscat, revealing only that the matter concerned Keith Schembri. According to Camilleri, he was eventually informed that if he reported for work, the prime minister would see him.

He told the jury that he was subsequently escorted to Muscat's office but claimed that before he had the opportunity to explain why he was there, the then prime minister interrupted him.

According to Camilleri, Muscat simply told him: "It's best that I don't know."

Judge Edwina Grima questioned the account, asking whether Muscat had made the remark before Camilleri had said anything at all.

"I don't know. I don't understand it either," the witness replied, adding that he left the office without discussing the matter further.

Questioned about why he had stopped attending work, Camilleri said he had become afraid for his life.

Asked whom he feared, he replied that he was frightened of "the people who were involved in it", specifically mentioning the Degiorgio brothers and Keith Schembri.

Explaining why he believed Schembri was implicated, Camilleri noted that Schembri had been the person who sent him to meet Melvin Theuma before suddenly cutting off all communication afterwards.

"He's the one who sent me there. I wasn't involved, was I?" Camilleri told the court.

The witness also recalled an incident after giving evidence before the public inquiry into Daphne Caruana Galizia's assassination. He said that as he left the hearing, a man he had never seen before approached him and told him: "You exposed Keith."

Camilleri said the encounter frightened him and left him frozen, adding that he had never discovered the man's identity.

Prosecutors then turned to inconsistencies between the evidence Camilleri had given in court and his original police statements.

Camilleri openly admitted that parts of his first statement to police had been false, explaining that at the time he trusted no one. He insisted that the version he was now giving under oath was the truthful one.

When prosecutors highlighted passages in which he had previously claimed to have remained inside the vehicle while Johann Cremona spoke alone with Melvin Theuma, Camilleri rejected those earlier accounts outright.

"That's not true," he said, maintaining that the opposite had happened and that he himself had spoken directly to Theuma.

The prosecution also referred to claims made by Yorgen Fenech in a police statement alleging that Keith Schembri had sent Camilleri to kill Melvin Theuma.

Following objections from the defence, Judge Edwina Grima personally put the question to the witness.

Camilleri categorically rejected the allegation.

"No," he replied, dismissing the claim without hesitation.

During cross-examination, defence lawyer Gianella De Marco established that Camilleri had never spoken directly to Yorgen Fenech. However, the witness maintained that when Johann Cremona collected him after Keith Schembri's phone call, it was immediately apparent that Cremona already knew exactly where they were going. Camilleri agreed that this suggested Schembri must also have spoken directly to Cremona before arranging the meeting.

Questioned further about his encounter with Melvin Theuma, Camilleri reiterated that Theuma had repeatedly asked him to secure bail for the Degiorgio brothers and to provide each of them with what he described only as "the bag", which Camilleri assumed referred to cash. He said Theuma also urged him to "get rid of them". Camilleri testified that he immediately walked away from the conversation before telephoning Schembri, intending to ask him what he had "dragged" him into, only for Schembri to answer briefly, say he was in a meeting and hang up.

Towards the end of his testimony, Camilleri again explained why he had initially failed to disclose the full story to police, saying fear had prevented him from telling investigators everything he knew. He told jurors he had been intimidated by Schembri's position as the prime minister's chief of staff and had trusted nobody.

When asked what had frightened him so much, Camilleri replied: "Keith was the prime minister's chief of staff. If that wouldn't make you afraid, I don't know what would."

With that, his cross-examination concluded, and the court adjourned until Saturday.

A minute-by minute account of today's sitting may be found here