By Alpha Abu
Four people who were named in the Commissions of Inquiry (COI) and had adverse recommendations made against them have had appeal rulings made on their cases, with two exonerated whilst the other two have been found wanting.
Appeal Court Judges, Adrian Fisher, Ansumana Ivan Sesay and Momoh Jah Stevens presided over appeals filed by former Lands Minister Alhaji Musa Tarawally, former Secretary Vice President’s Office Baba Brima Fortune and two former civil servants.
Mani Koroma and Umaru Conteh had both served in the past as Permanent Secretaries in the Education Ministry. The two had their appeals upheld after State Counsel, Robert Kowa argued that there was sufficient evidence that found both men culpable. Apart from executing the COI recommendations and the white paper, both were ordered to pay some fifty million Leones each in relation to their appeal process.
In the case of Alhaji Musa Tarawally and Baba Brima Fortune, the court ruled that the Commission’s findings were not justifiable enough and considered their appeals in place. The court apart from absolving tarawally and Fortune, also ordered for refund of monies they could have paid as a result of the COI findings.
Upon assuming governance in 2018, the SLPP administration formed a Transition Team that looked into the activities of the previous APC government and which later recommended for probing of officials. Three Commissions of Inquiry were eventually set up by the government. One was led by Nigerian Judge, George Biobele. Ghanaian Justice William Annan Atuguba and his Sierra Leonean counterpart Justice Bankole Thompson presided over the other two commissions.
Proceedings commenced after they took oaths on the 29 January 2019. Officials of Ministries, Departments and Agencies (MDAs) and people in the private sector appeared before the commissions. After 14 months of hearings that focused on the conduct of persons in key positions, the commissions closed their sittings in March 2020, highlighting key recommendations. The government as a follow up released a White Paper taking into consideration the recommendations made. Legal consultant in the Attorney General’s office, Lahai Momoh Farma at a press briefing in Freetown not too long ago, indicated that some 38 properties were up for confiscation by the state after they were found to have been corruptly acquired by persons named in the COI reports. He also said they have received many appeals and that some other people accused of misappropriating public funds have been paying back. President Julius Maada Bio had expressed his desire for recouping of stolen public money and properties than subscribing to imprisonment.
Copyright © 2021 Politico Online 28/04/21)
