Seriously? APC gets vindicated…? You\u2019re kidding me? \u00a0This title for an article describing the verdict in the conspiracy and influence peddling case against Momoh Conteh is at minimum, misleading, and a mischaracterization of the facts of the case. \u00a0The facts are that the government, represented by the prosecution woefully failed to argue and present evidence that warranted a conviction. \u00a0Reading from the transcript of the matter, even a novice in law would see how badly prepared the prosecution and its star witness, Sorious were. \u00a0Simply put, the ACC, through the prosecution, has done the nation a disservice by failing to secure a conviction in a case as important as this. \u00a0And, a little lesson for the hyperbole created by the headline in the Awareness Times Newspaper: when the prosecution fails, it means the leadership of the ACC fails, and consequently, the government fails the nation as well.<\/p>\n
The point here is, when the ACC fails to successfully indict and convict individuals of corrupt behaviors, the citizens of Sierra Leone pay a steep price. \u00a0We should all remember it is not enough to indict. \u00a0The ACC needs competent attorneys to secure convictions. \u00a0That\u2019s the primary purpose of this commission. \u00a0When the leadership of the ACC fails to take measures that yield results, the president\u2019s agenda to root out corruption in Sierra Leone will at best be perceived as an, \u201call smoke and no fire\u201d policy, and the consequences for such perception by the international community could be devastating for a president who has a strong desire to leave office with a legacy of exceptional delivery for the people of Sierra Leone.<\/p>\n
What can President Ernest Koroma do to remedy this situation, and to resurrect his slightly tainted image? Reconstitute the Anti-Corruption Commission! \u00a0This case offers the president and the legislature an opportunity to take a fresh and closer look at the leadership of this Commission. The nation needs a commissioner who can produce results. \u00a0As a result, the Commission needs to recruit the best and brightest attorneys in the country. Cronyism should not play a role in securing competent lawyers for such a high profile and sensitive agency.<\/p>\n
Put in more direct terms, the president cannot let the phony disappointment of a commissioner who has failed to do his job deter him. \u00a0The truth is rather than to question the integrity of the justice system, we as a nation need to do some serious introspection, and the president needs to ask himself the question, \u201cis the nation getting its money\u2019s worth from the highest paid public servant in Sierra Leone?\u201d \u00a0Perhaps, it\u2019s time to relieve the commissioner of his duties, demote him, or reduce his salary and hire competent attorneys that would help the government stamp out corruption in the country.<\/p>\n
Finally, as Sierra Leoneans, we should all be thankful that this time, we had a judge who rendered a verdict based on the evidence presented in front of him, instead of drawing erroneous conclusions based on public opinion.\u00a0 In essence, this time, we can truly say that the rule of law prevailed, irrespective of what we think the outcome should have been; and we should all be thankful to the Honorable Justice Abdulai Charm for staying true to the oath of his office and of his profession.<\/p>\n
by Francis I. Dumbuya, Ph.D.<\/i><\/p>\n
Stay with Sierra Express Media, for your trusted place in news!<\/i><\/b><\/p>\n Seriously? APC gets vindicated…? You\u2019re kidding me? \u00a0This title for an article describing the verdict in the conspiracy and influence peddling case against Momoh Conteh […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":34,"featured_media":57294,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[671,673],"tags":[948],"class_list":["post-57293","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-featured","category-national-news","tag-anti-corruption-commission"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/sierraexpressmedia.net\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/57293","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/sierraexpressmedia.net\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/sierraexpressmedia.net\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sierraexpressmedia.net\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/34"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sierraexpressmedia.net\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=57293"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/sierraexpressmedia.net\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/57293\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sierraexpressmedia.net\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/57294"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/sierraexpressmedia.net\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=57293"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sierraexpressmedia.net\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=57293"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sierraexpressmedia.net\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=57293"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}
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