By Newman Anthony Levey in Bo
The Medical Superintendent at the Bo Government Hospital, Dr Peter Belmoh Samai, has been given a Le200 million bail after his first appearance in court on Thursday.
The bail condition also includes two sureties who are landowners in the district.
Dr Samai faces three counts charges of unlawful dispossession of property, misappropriation and abuse of office. He was arraigned in front of Justice Alfred Tommy Ganda where he pleaded “not guilty” to all three charges.
Samai was charged last week by the Anti-Corruption Commission (ACC) after an investigation revealed that he was using a generator at his home which was meant for the Bo Government Hospital, which he oversees.
The Prosecution Witness 1, who is a senior investigator of the ACC in Bo, Beleda Hebron, explained in court that she secured a warrant of arrest to search Samai’s home, where they found two generators.
Hebron said the search was initiated following a complaint of a missing generator at the hospital.
Journalists have been key in the build up to this trial. A statement early this week released by the ACC highlighted the important role the media played in providing the necessary evidence for the anti-graft body to build the case.
Samai’s lawyer, Aggery Albert Amara, objected to the colour of the generator. The generator which went missing was green as Hebron described it in her testimony. But Amara was contesting that it was not the same color generator that was found in his client’s home.
The ACC are under the obligation to prove that Samai’s generator belongs to the hospital. The lead prosecutor, Abubaker Sannoh, said they would put their witness on the stand.
There is a strong indication that the witness is a worker at the Bo Government Hospital. Whiles Amara was making an application for bail, Sannoh raised a concern with the judge that his witness be protected from possible intimidation by the accused.
Samai has not been relived of his duties or suspended, despite the indictment.
Justice Ganda adjourned the hearing to January 29th this year.
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