Monrovia – Presiding Judge of Criminal Court “B” Tuesday ordered FrontPageAfrica’s reporter, Bettie Johnson Mbayo, out of the court as the witness testifying against George Darlington, former bodyguard of President Ellen Johnson Sirleaf, took the witness stand.
His action runs contrary to the Chief Justice’s recent statement that the court will not be used as a place to suppress the media.
In a recent statement, Chief Justice Francis Korkpor said that the court is a friend of a media and the court will not be a place to intimidate the press in the country.
But acting in the contrary, Judge Korboi Nuta ordered the bailiff to put the reporter out of the hearing of the case.
FPA reporter Bettie Johnson-Mbayo had gone to cover witnesses’ testimonies but could not hear the witness from the position which she sat due to the loud noise of the generator directly behind the court room.
Bettie then chose to sit in the dock which was empty when the court bailiff approached her and informed her that the judge says she should go out of the courtroom.
Judge Nuta failed to hear Bettie out when she complained that she could not have sat anywhere else to hear clearly due to the loud noise from the generator.
“Don’t you hear what he [the bailiff] is saying?” he asked the reporter.
Bettie accordingly responded: “Your honor, I told him (bailiff) I couldn’t sit back there because of the noise of the generator.”
Judge Nuta then shouted at her, “Get out,” pointing to the door. She was escorted out of the court room by the bailiff.
The incident is the second of its kind. Inquirer reporter and Daily Observer reporters were on a different occasion asked out of the court by Judge Nuta.
Judge Nuta, according to observers, is said to be a hostile judge and was recently suspended for 6 months for ethical transgression by the Supreme Court.
Criminal Court “B” is currently hearing the trial involving Darlington George who was accused of brutalizing a lady identified as Esther Glain at the Barnersville sports pitch outside Monrovia on September 15, 2015, an allegation he has denied.
He’s charged along with James Tamba, another Executive Protection Service agent, who was then assigned with Vice President Joseph N. Boakai.
Charges for the two ex-presidential guards ranged from criminal attempt to commit murder to aggravated assault.
It can be recalled one of state’s witness Rebecca Yeewea claimed that she and Esther Glain (complainant) were discussing a football game they had watched earlier when an SUV drove very close to them, almost to the point of hitting them.
Yeewea alleged that, at that point, she and the victim walked to the car – Yeewea took to the passenger door, while Esther, the driver side of the door.
She claimed when Esther rapped on the glass door, defendant George rolled down his window.
After Esther asked Darlington George why he wanted to kill them, Yeewea said she heard him retort some expletives at them.
Yeewea explained that afterward, George began to insult them, calling them derogatory names and using cuss words to drive them away from his vehicle.
Following the insults, she alleged that George came out of his car and slapped Esther, at which time Esther lost hold of her drink, which fell to the ground.
“Then George slapped Esther on her chest. Later, Tamba came down from the car with a Malta bottle (glass bottle) in his hand, which he used to hit Esther on her face,” the prosecution’s second witness claimed.