Monrovia – Associate Justice Philip Banks will on Wednesday, June 14th at the hour of 1:00PM rule in the Sable Mining bribery case involving former and current government officials.
Report by Kennedy L. Yangian – [email protected]
The former and current government officials including former House Speaker Alex Tyler and ailing Grand Cape Mount Senator Varney Sherman and six other defendants have gone on trial for bribery, economic sabotage, criminal conspiracy, solicitation and facilitation.
They have been charged in the aftermath of the Global Witness, May 2016 Report that they allegedly received bribe in the tune of US$950,000 from a British company, Sable Mining to change the Public Procurement and Concession (Act) in favor of the British company to mine the Wologisi Mountain in Lofa County.
The eight defendants have denied the charges.
Wednesday’s ruling by Associate Justice Banks who is also the Justice-in-chamber of the Supreme Court will be centered around the prosecution’s writ of certiorari filed at the Supreme Court against the ruling of Judge Gbeisay when he ruled and temporarily admitted the e-mail evidence of the prosecution in the case.
The prosecution in the case led by Montserrado County Attorney Cllr. Daku Mulbah has told the court that the judge had allegedly committed anadvertant error when he temporarily admitted the e-mail exchanges allegedly between co-defendant Varney Sherman and executive of Sable Mining Hans Van Niekerk.
Co-defendant Sherman has been described by the prosecution as the alleged mastermind behind the Sable Mining bribery scandal between the indicted former and current government officials associated with the case.
“Wherefore and in view of the foregoing petitioners pray that your honor orders the clerk to cite the respondents to show cause why the petition should not be granted thereafter direct the co-respondent judge to place permanent mark allow the admission of the evidence with or without the compulsory appearance of Hans Van Niekerk, failure which the alternative writ should be issued and grant unto petitioner any and all further relief as your honor may deem just legal and necessary” said the petitioners.
However Judge Gbeisay has also pleaded with the court that he had not committed any advertent error as his decision to temporarily admit the e-mail evidence was based on Article 21 (h) of the Constitution that says that in all criminal cases the accused is entitled to a lawyer to confront witnesses against him.
The ruling of Associate Justice Banks will determine the outcome of the case which has been on hold since April 2017 as the result of the writ of certiorari filed by the prosecution.
As the result of the prosecution’s writ of certiorari Associate Justice Banks has placed a stay order on all proceeding of the case at the criminal Court “C” at the Temple of Justice where the case resumed on March 10, 2017.
Ahead of the Associate Justice- In-Chamber’s ruling on Wednesday, some legal practitioners following the case have told FrontPageAfrica that the case may proceed to the full bench of the Supreme Court due to the constitutional provision cited by the respondent judge Yarmie Gbeisay.