Defense to close case next week
October 27, 2016 By Patrick Jaiah Kamara
Defense lawyer Emmanuel Saffa Abdulai has told High Court Judge, Justice Miatta Samba, that he intends to close his case after calling his last defense witness on the next adjourned date – 1st November, 2016.
Lawyer Abdulai is representing Mohamed Osman Sesay, who the Anti-Corruption Commission indicted for allegedly defrauding British national, Dominic Anselm Joseph Beary, Director of Network Proximity Sierra Leone Limited, the sum of US$800,000.
Sesay was the local agent of Director of Network Proximity, facilitating the issuance of license and other important documents on the company’s behalf.
The accused person took to the witness box last week and was yesterday re-examined by his lawyer.
Under re-examination, the accused denied sending exhibit X1-2 to Mr. Dominic Anselm Joseph Beary – a letter from the Ministry of Information and Communication, singed by one Mr. Bakarr Tarawallie – although he accepted that it was one of those documents that were found at his residence.
He told the court that he was not the author of the said document, but that it was given to him by one Mr. John Mason, local director of the company.
He declined knowledge of some documents, including moneygram payment transfer receipt and a house plan document, which he said was prepared before he started working for Network Proximity Sierra Leone limited.
The next defense witness is his co-accused, Denis Jones, who fled the jurisdiction at the time the ACC filed the indictment in the High Court.
The ACC alleges that the accused person conspired with other unknown persons to commit corruption offences, contrary to Section 128 of the Anti-Corruption Act of 2008.
The indictment also alleges that on diverse dates between May and July, 2015, being an agent, the accused conspired with unknown individuals to deceive Mr. Beary, Director of Network Proximity Sierra Leone Limited, to pay the sum of US$100,000, purportedly as fees for an international gateway license and other expenditures to the tune of US$800,000.
The accused has been in custody since his arrest because he could not fulfill the Le2.5 billion bail condition.