By Saio Marrah
Sierra Leone Court of Appeal has affirmed the seizure of Former Minister of Mines and Mineral Resources, Abdul Ignosis Koroma’s Mansion in Makeni.
The value of the said property was said to be Six Billion and Four Hundred Million Old Leones (Le 6, 400, 000, 000)
The court dismissed Koroma’s appeal filed against a Commission of Inquiry chaired by Justice Biobele Georgewill to examine the assets and other related matters in respect of top government officials of the Koroma-led administration spanning from November 2007 to April 2018.
A panel of three judges led by Justice Fatmata Bintu Alhadi handed down the judgment in Freetown on Monday 18th September 2023.
The judgment read out by Justice Komba Kamanda explained that valuation by Olu Campbell (the valuer) was challenged by the appellant’s lawyer, Ady Macauley, who argued about the market value and the value of the property at the time of construction.
Macauley was said to have further argued that the commissioner did not consider the housing allowance of the records.
Justice Kamanda pointed out in the judgment that the appellant did attempt to justify his means to the commission by the records of the housing allowance, salaries, and other benefits enjoyed by the appellant as Deputy Minister, but that those were not commensurate to the massive structure he built at Railway Line, Teko Road in Makeni.
“When serious allegations of unexplained wealth are made, the person against whom the allegations are made, as the in the instant cases, bears the evidential burden, to show that the wealth or “property’’ which is subject of the said allegation was acquired lawfully and not by funds obtained illegally,”
He added: “Those facts were all before the sole commissioner and were adequately considered by him as clearly articulated in his report and findings.”
In relation to the issue of competence raised on the valuer, Olu Campbell which the commission relied on was affirmed by the appeal Court that he is a credible witness.
“There is uncontrovertible evidence that the valuer, Olu Campbell has been performing this role for about 35 years. I have also taken judicial notice that the said valuer has been appearing in various courts performing the role of a valuer and appraisal,” he affirmed.
The appeal court, however, dismissed the commission’s act of finding the appellant guilty of a crime for not declaring his asset together with other persons.
According to Justice Kamanda, the power to convict only rests in the bench, noting that the commission is to only investigate.
However, the court affirmed that allegations against the appellant and other persons of interest over the sale of Sierra Rutile Company SL Limited and other subsequent dealings were not controverted in any way.
He added that the evidence adduced by a particular section of the COI findings “clearly show that procedures were not followed by the appellant and other officials of the Ministry of Mines. The evidence shows that the lack of compliance led to further misappropriation of public funds.”
The Appeal court further noted that the findings of the commissioner showed that the appellant conspired with other officials of the ministry leading to acts of corruption, maladministration, abuse of office, and lack of accountability.
Lawyer Robert B. Kowa, had earlier argued for the state that the appellant having served as head of the ministry at the time of the act, had the power to supervise and give directives to avert any wrong-doing. This was in response to the appellant’s claim that he did not act wrongly in his personal capacity.
Copyright (2023) Politico (20/09/23)
