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Sierra Leone court frees opposition politician on treason charges

  • Palo Conteh

By Francis H. Murray

The defense of the convicted former Defense Minister, Alfred Palo Conteh, has reacted to Wednesday’s High Court verdict with mixed feelings and vowed to appeal the ruling against him.

Palo Conteh, after over three months of trial, was found guilty on two count charges but he was acquitted on all counts of treason.   

Justice Alhaji Momoh Jah Stevens gave the convict a two -year custodial sentence to be served concurrently following his conviction on count 10 and 11: keeping a greater number of small arms than was specified by law and for carrying a weapon in public place.

While the lead defense counsel, Lawyer Abdulai Conteh said the trial restored his faith in the country’s judiciary, another member of the defense team, Lawyer Ady Macauley, feels differently about the judicial system.

“My faith has been restored in the judiciary – that there are still in this country honest men and women who will deliver a verdict according to law and evidence. We the defence team are not the heroes, the jurors are the heroes and heroines and the country should be proud of them,” Lawyer Conteh told Politico a day after the ruling.

However, while praising the performance of the jury, Macauley sounded was unhappy with the conduct of the presiding judge throughout the trial.

“Yesterday was not a celebration of the judiciary; it’s a celebration of the jury system in the country. It shows that there are good men and women still in Sierra Leone,” Macauley said.

He added: “It is our view as a defense team that the judge did misdirect the jury on the law and on the facts relating to those two offenses which led to the jury bringing out a conviction. We’ve written to the Master and Registrar of the High Court and requested that we be given access to the written instruction and submissions which the judge gave to the jury. After reviewing same, we will be able to strengthen and fortify the grounds of appeal that we will be filing.”

Macauley said they will not only appeal the verdict on those two counts but will also be appealing against the conviction because they consider it to be “harsh”.

“The conviction as we see it is manifestly harsh because you cannot come and give a maximum punishment for the offense when you have not explained to the accused why you’re sentencing him the maximum sentence, what are the aggravating circumstances? It was manifestly excessive, we will be appealing both the conviction and the sentencing,” Macauley said.

The three month long case has once again dredged deep divisions between the ruling Sierra Leone Peoples Party and the main opposition All Peoples Congress.

However, both political parties have been careful not to directly talk about the case in their ongoing banters.

The case has come as a test to the judiciary’s independence. Campaigners have hailed the trial as a shining example in judicial independence.

Civil society group Renaissance Movement stated in a press statement on Thursday that they appreciated “this seeming display of judicial independence reflected in the jury trial and verdict, and hope that such independence remains a hallmark of all judicial proceedings in the country…”

Palo is still in jail until his defense wins the appeal. The two other accused, Saa Anthony Sinnah and Prince George Hughes were acquitted of the two count charges each of them was facing.

On Thursday, Paolo was seen visibly relieved as the jury read out its verdict and exonerated him on the treason charges.

Family members of Sinnah and Hughes could also not hide their sheer elation as they were acquitted of all their charges.

Copyright © 2020 Politico Online

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