Monrovia – At long last the Supreme Court Wednesday, August 22, 2018 handed down judgment in a petition filed in the Sable Mining bribery case ordering the lower court to resume jurisdiction in the matter.
Report by Kennedy L. Yangian, [email protected]
The petition for the writ of certiorari which halted the case when it resumed during the February 2017 Term of Court was filed to the Supreme Court when the prosecution had accused the presiding Judge Yarmie Gbeisay of committing an error when he ruled to temporarily marked an e-mail evidence of the prosecution which they claimed was a key evidence that could convict the eight former and current government officials allegedly involved in the bribery scheme.
Judge Yarmie Gbeisay presiding over the Criminal Court “C” at the Temple of Justice has ruled and stated during the trial in May 2017 that he was to temporarily mark the e-mail obtained from South Africa by the prosecution until the witness who provided the e-mail can appear and testify to the documentary evidence as the law provides that defense lawyers must have the opportunity to cross-examine prosecution witnesses during the time of trial.
Defense lawyer in the case headed by Cllr. Moses Paegar objected the temporary admittance of the e-mail evidence claiming that the e-mail which was reported to have been exchanged between the principal defendant in the bribery case Senator Varney Sherman and executive of Sable Mining was hacked,
Prosecution lawyer Cllr. Daku Mulbah disagreed with the Judge and later filed a petition for a writ of certiorari to the Supreme Court, the writ of certiorari is filed to the high court to correct the ruling of lower court judges.
“We are going to file a writ of certiorari against the ruling of Judge Gbeisay to the Supreme Court to test the law as to whether our decision is wrong,” said Cllr. Mulbah, though Judge Gbeisay who served as both a judge and jury had maintained that he has done no wrong by temporarily marking the prosecution e-mail evidence.
Retired Associate Justice Philip Banks who first heard the petition for the writ of petition ruled that Judge Gbeisay had committed an error when he temporarily mark the e-mail evidence.
Chief Justice Francis Korkpor prior to rendering the high court judgment Wednesday stated the opinion of the high court has already been handed down by retired Associate Justice Philip Banks but what the court has done was to affirm the Associate Justice opinion.
The Acting Clerk of the Supreme Court Jacqueline Wah stated while reading the high court judgment that having carefully reviewed the records, considered the laws cited by the counsels of both sides, appellee and appellant it was hereby adjudged by the high court that the law requires that one who alleges has the burden to prove since the co-appellant defense alleged that the e-mail was hacked they had the burden to prove therefore it was an error on the part of the trial judge to required the state to prove that the e-mail was not hacked.
According to the high court judgment, the temporary marking of documentary evidence is alien to country’s jurisdiction, documentary evidence when testified to by a witness marked and confirmed by the court should be submitted to the jury or received by the judge sitting at a bench trial to determine its authenticity and materiality.
“Wherefore and view of the foregoing the ruling of the Justice In- Chambers appealed from which revised the trial judge’s ruling is affirmed, the alternative writ of certiorari issued is sustained and the peremptory writ issued is affirmed, the Clerk is ordered to send a mandate to the court below ordering the judge to resume jurisdiction over this case and place permanent marks on the documents objected to it is hereby ordered” said the high court judgment.
The former and current government officials on trial for the Sable Mining bribery scandal are former Speaker Alex Tyler, Grand CapeMount County Senator Varney Sherman, former Deputy Minister of Lands& Mines E.C.B. Jones, former boss of the Public Procurement Commission Willie Belleh, Richard Tolbert former Chairman of the National Investment Commission (NIC) others are Bomi Senator Morris Saytumah, former Lands& Mines Minister Eugene Shannon and businessman Christopher Onanuga.
The defendants are held for economic sabotage, theft of property, criminal conspiracy, facilitation and solicitation after the London based NGO has accused them in its report of allegedly receiving a US$950,000 bribe from a British Company Sable Mining to change the Public Procurement and Concession Commission Act in favor of the company to mine the Wologisi Mountain in Lofa County, the charges all of the defendants have denied.