Monrovia – Lone prosecution lawyer at the Wednesday, June 19, hearing of the Sable Mining Bribery Case, Assistant Justice Minister for Litigation, Cllr. Wesseh Alphonso Wesseh, breathed the air of relief after the court finally accepted his pieces of evidence produced in the case.
The pieces of evidence, which included reported e-mail exchanges between “co-defendant Varney Sherman and Sable Mining executives, spreadsheet of bank statements of the Sherman & Sherman Law Firm and Global Witness Report that indicted the eight defendants for bribery in 2016, had been difficult to be accepted by the court when Judge Yarmie Gbeisay, the first judge presiding over the case, ruled to temporarily accept these pieces of evidence.
Judge Gbeisay claimed in March 2018 at the start of the case to accept the prosecution evidence temporarily until the Sable Mining executive Hans Van Niekerk involved with the e-mail but resides in South Africa can come to Liberia and testify to the e-mail exchanges as a matter of law.
His decision was rejected by the prosecution head at the time, former Montserrado County Attorney, Cllr. Daku Mulbah that it was illegal and challenged the Judge’s decision when he filed a Writ of Certiorari to the Supreme Court former Justice Philip Banks to review the decision of Judge Gbeisay in the temporary admittance of those pieces of evidence.
Associate Justice Banks, following the hearing of the Writ of Certiorari, ruled that Judge Gbeisay’s decision as being wrong and a strange practice of law in the country to temporarily admit the prosecution’s evidence.
Banks’ decision was also backed by the Supreme Court Full Bench when the defense counsel appealed against his ruling and the high court’s opinion of August 27, 2018 backed Banks and ordered that the same lower court resumed jurisdiction over the case and permanently mark the evidence in question.
On Wednesday, June 19, during the continuation of the trial, prosecution lawyer, Assistant Justice Minister for Litigation, Wesseh A. Wesseh, drew the court’s attention to the Supreme Court’s August 27, 2018 mandate that called on the lower court to accept the evidence of the prosecution before the court.
“The Supreme Court’s ruling in this case stated that the temporary marking of documentary evidence is strange in our jurisdiction, documentary when testified to by the witness marked and confirmed by the court should be submitted to the jury or received by a judge sitting at a bench trial to determine its authencity and materiality,” Cllr. Wesseh stated and called on the Judge to respect the decision of the high court.
Defense lawyer Cllr. Cyril Jones interposed no objection to the prosecution lawyer’s submission made to accept its pieces of evidence pending before the court.
“Your Honor, one of counsels for the defendants interposed no objection to the submission made by the prosecution,” said Cllr. Jones.
Prosecution lawyer Wesseh after that asked the court for up to Friday, June 21, to enable the prosecution put on the witness stand its third witness in person of Aaron Aboah, a former employee of the Liberia Anti-Corruption Commission (LACC) to testify.
“The submission made by the prosecution is hereby granted. The hearing of this matter is assigned on Friday, June 21st at 9:00 am. The minutes of today’s sitting constitute a notice of assignment since both parties are present in court, and is hereby so ordered,” ruled Judge Peter Gbeneweleh.
The eight defendants charged with bribery, economic sabotage, criminal conspiracy, facilitation and solicitation in connection with the Sable Mining bribery scandal but pleaded not guilty include former House Speaker Alex Tyler, Grand Cape Mount Senator Varney Sherman and Bomi Senator Morris Saytumah.
Others are Dr. Richard Tolbert, former National Investment Commission (NIC) Chairman, former Chairman of the Public Procurement & Concession Commission, Willie Belleh, Former Lands, Mines & Energy Minister Eugene Shannon, businessman Christopher Onanuga and former Lands, Mines & Energy Deputy Minister Ernest C.B. Jones.
According to the indictment, the defendants were indicted based on the Global Witness May 2016 Report that accused them of allegedly receiving US$950,000 to change the PPCC Act in favor of the British company Sable Mining to mine the Wologisi Mountain in Lofa County.