The Sierra Leone Court of Appeal has ordered the immediate arrest of former presidential candidate of the All Peoples Congress (APC), Dr. Samura M.W. Kamara.
The appellate court gave the order on Tuesday while delivering judgement in an appeal filed by Kamara.
The court also ordered Undersheriff to hand him over to the Anti-Corruption Commission for investigation over his involvement in an alleged “shady and secret deal” involving the sale of shares owned by the Government of Sierra Leone in Sierra Rutile Limited (SRL).
A three member panel of justices unanimously ordered Dr. Kamara to refund to the Government of Sierra Leone the sum of USD727,364.00 within fourteen (14) days, or provide evidence of the loan agreement entered into by the Government of Sierra Leone with SRL in 1992.
The panel of justices include; Justice Ivan Sesay, Justice Alhaji Mohamed Momoh-Jah Stevens (JA) and Justice Fisher (J)
Background
The Commissions of Inquiry were set up by the President of Sierra Leone, Dr. Julius Maada Bio, in line with Constitutional Instrument No. 64 of 2018, pursuant to Section 147 of the Constitution of Sierra Leone, Act No. 6 of 1991.
Justice Sir Biobele Georgewill was appointed
Chairman and Sole Commissioner charged with the responsibility to investigate allegations of widespread corruption and abuse of office, as well as examine the assets and other related matters of persons who served in the previous administration from November 2007 to April 2018.
Represented by Ady Macauley Esq., Kamara appealed against the decision of the Commission of Inquiry on the following grounds.
“That the sole commissioner erred in law and acted in violation of section 150 of the constitution of Sierra Leone when he proceeded to conduct the Commission of Inquiry without the rules prescribed by the Rules of Court Committee to regulate the practice and procedure of all Commissions of Inquiry, to be prescribed by the Rules of Court Committee as provided for under section 150 of the said constitution.”
The Appellant’s lawyer, on seven grounds of appeal, contends that the adverse findings in Chapter Two of volume 1 of the report, specifically regarding the sale of shares in Sierra Rutile Company (SL) Ltd, go against the presented evidence at the inquiry.
The argument asserts that the facts and evidence available during the proceedings do not align with the specific findings of Hon. Justice Biobele Georgewill.
On behalf of the State, Robert Baoma Kowa Esq. told the Court that the Sole Commissioner did not violate Section 150 of the Constitution, adding that, “section 45(2) of the now repealed Government Budgeting and Accountability Act 2005 states that every vote controller shall comply with any financial instructions or direction given by the Minister.”
According to Lawyer Kowa, the sales agreement was not properly communicated to the necessary authorities and there was non-compliance with legislation at the time of the sale of the Government shares, which include the Government Budgeting and Accountability Act 2005 and the 1991 Constitution.
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Court’s decision
In the 25-page judgment, the Court of Appeal dismissed Dr. Kamara’s appeal, reiterating that even the former Permanent Secretary was not aware of the sale of 30% shares belonging to the Government of Sierra Leone.
The justices unanimously held that “There is no documentation on the sale but there is a document between the Bank of Sierra Leone and Sierra Rutile company,”
They noted that the sale of the shares was conducted in 2012 during the tenure of the Appellant as the former Minister of Finance and the amount paid into the consolidated revenue fund amounted to $12,000,000.00.”
Author: Edna Amie
