By Janet A. Sesay
Counsel representing the former President in the ongoing treason trial, Joseph Fitzgerald Kamara says the Attorney-General’s statement is irrelevant to the case.
Ex-President Ernest Bai Koroma is answering to four counts of treason, and has been under house arrest since his indictment.
The Attorney-General, Mohamed Lamin Tarawally’s statement in the court touched on an inciting press release allegedly issued by APC (All People’s Congress)’s Secretary-General, Lansana Dumbuya.
Mr Tarawally made the claim while making his submissions before the court last week and called the APC scribe to show respect for the court.
All sorts of comments, he went on, were made to the point that it looked like the matter before the court was a political witch hunt by the government and a recipe for chaos.
“As prosecutors, we are not saying that the accused is guilty. It is the court that has the right to give ruling on the matter,” he stressed while reminding the court that the accused was arraigned for treason.
Nobody, he said, was brought to court without evidence, yet it was the court that had the right to prove the accused guilty, and that Dumbuya was one of the defence lawyers of the former President.
“What he did was bad,” he reminded the court arguing that they were in court to put their evidence in court and the public.
He also informed the court that the lead defence counsel for the former President was also on television delving into the content of the charges levied against his client which he said were wrong adding that such would lead to contempt of court.
In his reply, Kamara says “Sierra Leone is a free country” he is free to speak on the facts of the case as long it is done within the confines of the law.
“If the other side is unhappy, they are sorry, no one can dictate to us on how to speak,” he stressed.
He further replied that the state should broaden its shoulders and not build their case out of the mouth of their client and should not guide others not to talk about their case.
He also submitted that there should be an opportunity for the defence to put their case to the public just like how a press release was issued by the Information Ministry on behalf of the Prosecution team to the public.
He said the witnesses’ statements had not been served to them by the Prosecution and he would have liked to see the state bringing their witnesses to court.
He said he would serve the court with a notice for the state to bring their evidence and copy them the witnesses’ statements.
The Attorney General, in second bite, said they were not saying that the public should not report but should not delve into the evidence.
He urged the court to admonish the defence team saying he would make an application for contempt of court.
At this juncture, the Attorney General hissed at the court while taking his seat.
Handing down his ruling, Magistrate Bangura said the public had the right to discuss on the matter but should not delve into the evidence as it amounted to contempt of court.
He said there should be some limit in discussing the matter adding that it could prejudice the judicial process.
Magistrate Bangura said the public should know once the matter was before the court, no one should delve into the evidence and that section 120 of the Public Order Act confers on the high court the powers to charge anyone with contempt.
He urged the media and the public not to express their opinions on the matter owing to the legal risks.
The former President Dr. Ernest Bai Koroma is before the court on preliminary investigation as he was arraigned on four counts of treason.
The state alleged that the former President, on diverse dates between 5th and 26th November, 2023 in Sierra Leone, prepared to overthrow the government of Sierra Leone by unlawful means.