By Allieu Sahid Tunkara
The accused in the on-going trial at Court Martial, presided over by His Lordship Alhaji Abu Bakarr King, has called for the result of the forensic analysis conducted on the alleged ‘letter of request’ by the Criminal Investigations Department (CID) hand writing expert.
Joseph Shenks made this demand last Thursday, during evidence-in –chief conducted by lead defence counsel, Shears Moses.
Squadron Leader (Major) Shenks is standing trial for two counts at the Court Martial of the Republic of Sierra Leone Armed Forces (RSLAF) Headquarters on Wilkinson Road for alleged falsification of a UK study leave approval and conduct to the prejudice of good order and discipline.
The prosecution alleged that while in the UK on dates between 10th and 15th of December, 2012, Shenks knowingly made a false study leave approval document and inserted a false name and signature purporting to be that of the Director of Personnel at the Ministry of Defence, contrary to section 65 (a) of the Armed Forces Act of 1961 as amended.
The pending expert evidence was a result of the forensic analysis conducted on exhibit ‘G’ being a letter of request for the extension of study leave approval, which the prosecution alleged was authored by the accused while he was in the United Kingdom on a study leave.
In his testimony on Monday, the accused told the court that the CID expert had been requested by the investigator, Captain Bockarie Conteh, the prosecution witness (PW-1) in the trial, as well as the court for the result of the forensic analysis to be produced and tendered in court, a request which, he said, the CID expert was yet to honour.
“I want the result of the analysis to form part of my defence,” Shenks said.
He also told the court that when the matter was initially charged to court, the two solicitors he consulted told him that the forensic evidence was crucial to the case. The request written by one of the former defence counsels, Antony Navo Jr., for the result of the forensic analysis dated 23rd December, 2014 was shown to the accused in the dock for identification, which he did.
However, the request was not tendered in evidence, but it is in the possession of the defence team. The prosecution expressed interest in the document and requested the court for it to be served on him prior to its tendering in evidence, since the document, the prosecution said, had never been brought to the trial.
The accused further explained to the court that he attended two investigations conducted into the alleged forgery including the one held by the Commander, Joint Force, Brigadier-General Bureh Sesay and that no report of the outcome of the investigations was served on him.
In the cross-examination conducted by the prosecution, lead counsel Ishmail Philip Mamie put it to the accused that the request for the result of the forensic analysis was never written by the defence lawyer, stating that it was an objection raised by the defence counsel that necessitated the court order for the production of the result, a statement to which the accused responded negative, saying that there had been three requests for the result of the forensic analysis and that the court order was just one of them.
The question as to whether the former defence lawyer made the request to the CID without coming to court was objected to by Shears Moses, who argued that solicitor-client communication was legally privileged.
The prosecution counsel also asked the accused how he did come into the case, a question to which the accused responded that he could not tell what happened in the dark.
Upon Shenks response, Counsel Mamie put it to the accused that he was the one who contacted the investigator through mobile phone communication that he had interest in the matter and that Flight Lieutnant Kamara should be considered innocent. The accused denied this assertion, prompting the prosecution counsel to request the court for exhibit B-1, which is an e-mail message of the expression of such interest, be shown to the accused. The court upheld the request and the e-mail message was read by the accused himself bearing the email address pschencks@yahoo.com as the source of the email.
Bail for the accused is still in force.
The matter comes up on Tuesday 19, May.
© Politico 19/05/14
