The long drawn out trial of The State v Afsatu Kabba, former Minister of Fisheries and Marine Resources, arguably the most publicized corruption-related trial in Sierra Leonean jurisprudence finally came to an end on Tuesday, 12thOctober instant in the High Court of Justice presided over by Justice Samuel Ademusu. The accused, who was standing trial over misappropriation of public funds and abuse of office contrary to sections 36(1) and 42(1) respectively of the Anti-Corruption Act 2008 (as amended) and who was stoutly defended by a battery of seasoned legal practitioners, was convicted on five of the seven counts that she had been arraigned in court for. After delivering the marathon judgment that lasted for about two hours in a tensed courtroom convicting the accused on counts 1-5 which dealt with the misappropriation of public funds and acquitting her on counts 6-7 which had to do with abuse of office, the learned Judge asked whether the defence team had anything to say before proceeding to her sentence. In his submission, the lead defence counsel, Blyden Jenkins-Johnston, was most obliged in asking the presiding Judge to temper justice with mercy. He further pleaded with the Judge not to impose a custodial sentence but rather give an alternative of a fine on the grounds that the accused had never had any criminal record before; and that she had ‘contributed significantly’ in collecting much needed revenue for the Government whilst serving as Minister of Fisheries and Marine Resources.
The presiding Judge sentenced the accused to a fine of thirty million Leones (about U$D7, 000) per count; totaling a hundred and fifty million Leones for the 5 counts or alternately serve a three year imprisonment on each count to run concurrently. After the pronouncement of the sentence, the lead prosecutor, Zimbabwean-born Calvin Mantsebo, asked for the learned Judge to order the restitution of the misappropriated money. In his response, the presiding Judge, Justice Samuel Ademusu, ordered the former minister to pay back to the consolidated fund the three hundred million Leones she had misappropriated. She was given a four week period to pay the fine and restitute the misappropriated money or risk being incarcerated until 2013. In actual fact, the accused is now to pay a total sum of four hundred and fifty million Leones within four weeks if she is to walk the streets a free woman again.
Outside the courthouse, reactions to the landmark court ruling differed from amongst members of the public, interest groups; and not least between the parties to the case. Whereas the lead defence counsel, Blyden Jenkins-Johnston, stated that they (defence) accepted the verdict of the honourable court and that they would be convening a meeting of defence counsels to ascertain whether or not to file an appeal against the conviction; the Commissioner of the Anti-Corruption Commission (ACC), Joseph Kamara, at a press conference convened immediately after the judgment was less gratified of the ruling. According to the ACC chief, the fine imposed by the court was not commensurate to the offence committed by the accused. He furthered that he would have preferred a custodial punishment and not only a fine; but however, stopped short at questioning the integrity of the court.
The trial has ended at least for now, although there are talks of the defence filling an appeal once it has thoroughly digested the ruling of the learned Judge. The said trial generated much controversy from all walks of life in which conspiracy theories overwhelmed logical reasoning. Behind the scene, there were allegations of judicial intrigues thus leading to the initially assigned Judge, Justice Nicholas Browne-Marke to recluse himself from the trial and Justice Samuel Ademusu brought in his stead. In political circles, there were charges of infighting between and amongst political rivals within the ruling All People’s Congress (APC) party during which fisticuffs sometimes triumphed over debate. There were instances when the courthouse was besieged by people alleged to be supporters of the ruling APC party and who were in ‘sympathy’ with the accused. Even members of the fourth estate were preoccupied with war of words over this law suit; their writings were their arms, and their targets were the conscience of the unsuspecting populace. The whirlwind of the trial did not spare the former Anti-Corruption czar, Abdul Tejan-Cole, who abdicated his position under controversial circumstances.
Be that as it may, though, there is good radiance from this high profile judgment. The judiciary, for its part has not only taken a bold step in the fight against corruption, a virus that has invested almost every facet of the body polity of our society; but has also demonstrated that it has integrity to jealously guard by upholding and maintaining the rule of law irrespective of probable arm twisting from powerful forces, be it overtly or covertly. As for the Commission on its part, the judgment will not only boost its morale but will also help increase public confidence in the work of the Commission; an incentive that is of no less importance if it is to measure up to its statutory mandate of turning back the hands of time on corrupt practices in this republic.