By Mohamed Jaward Nyallay
The Sierra Leone Police (SLP) has announced a Le10million reward for information as it mounts investigation into a suspected burglary on the residence of the lead judge in the ongoing Commissions of Inquiry (COI).
The Secretariat of the COI on Monday said Justice Biobele Goergewill’s residence was raided by alleged thieve (s) in the early hours of the morning and carted away with valuables that include his personal computer.
Although the Nigeria judge is said to be safe, proceedings in his commission had to be cancelled on Monday due to the incident. A spokesman for the Commission, Mohamed Massaqoui, said the thieves also took a computer backup hard drive.
“He is hale and hearty. But the thieves were able to steal his personal computer and the backup system. They did not attack him. This was a burglary,” Massaquoi told Politico.
Massaquoi said the proceeding had to be cancelled because they realized that the judge wouldn’t be in the right frame of mind to hold the sittings. He said he expected to continue his hearing on Wednesday.
Justice Georgewill is presiding over one of the three commissions set up by the government to investigate former officials suspected of involvement in corruption. His commission is dealing with some of the most sensitive cases to have ever been investigated in the country.
The COI was instituted in January this year as a result of the recommendations of the Governance Transition Team report in 2018.
This is not the first time the security of Justice Georgewill has come under the spotlight. In his early days in Sierra Leone, the Nigerian judge mentioned a death threat that was sent to him through an anonymous phone call. It is not clear whether Police strengthened his security detail following that alleged threat.
Massaqoui, who was charged to respond to media queries on the latest incident, said he was not in the position to talk about the security arrangements of the judge.
The incident has however raised questions about the reliability of the security arrangement for the judges leading the Commissions.
All three judges have Police and Military personnel in their escorts. They also have visible bodyguards with them in public places, in addition to three armed guards constantly positioned outside their residences. However, reports suggest that only one of the guards was on duty at Georgewill’s residence on Monday morning when the alleged burglary happened.
A statement issued by the SLP on Monday evening indicated that it had mounted a two-pronged investigation approach to the situation. It said while the Complaint, Discipline and Internal Investigation Department (CDIID) is investigating police officers deployed at the residence of the judge, the Criminal Investigation Department (CID) is investigating circumstances surrounding the break in.
“Management of the SLP wishes to state that it would spare no efforts to get to the bottom of this incident and further assures the general public that the outcome of the investigation would be accordingly made public,” the statement signed by Director of Community Affairs, Kalia Edward Sesay, read in part.
According to the COI Secretariat, the government is taking the situation seriously.
Prior to the Polic’s statement, Massaqoui said a special task force was been set up to investigate the matter, noting that the Attorney General would institute a criminal investigation into it.
Justice Geeorgewill who has been in the country since January, is dealing with some of the most sensitive cases in the commission; these include inquiries into the Ministry of Youths, Ebola funds, unsecured bank loans, Petroleum Directorate and many more.
Some of those cases can directly tie former President, Ernest Bai Koroma and most of his ministers to corrupt practices.
Last week Justice Georgeill opened an inquiry into the Ministry of Sports and Ministry of Trade and Industry. He was supposed to continue with those inquiries on Monday.
And next week he will be wrapping up inquiries into Ministry of Youth Affairs, Ministry of Health, Mines and Mineral Resources, Petroleum Directorate and Sierra Leone Commercial Bank.
It is not clear how this incident will affect this schedule. Massaqoui said the drive contained recordings of the proceedings.
The COI has recordist in each commission. As part of their work they record and transcribe daily proceedings in the commission. The commission said they will provide those recordings to help the data recovery process.
© 2019 Politico Online
