Hon. Kemoh Sesay was charged to Court by the erstwhile Sierra Leone Peoples Party (SLPP) Government whilst he was the sitting MP for Port Loko district. The then Opposition MP was accused of forging a birth certificate in order to obtain a passport. He case was called up many, many times without any witnesses appearing. It lasted for years with the matter just being adjourned ceaselessly. One time, Hon. Kemoh Sesay was too sick to go to court. As soon as it was realised he was not in court, a Bench Warrant was issued for him to be taken to Pademba Road Prisons with his Bail seized.
Before the Police could arrive at his house to grab him, the honourable MP for Port Loko quickly went into hiding whilst his party leader, the then Opposition APC Leader, Hon. Ernest Bai Koroma and other APC hierarchy started working to ensure a medical certificate was prepared to be tendered.
A battery of lawyers and also a battery of APC members with their landed registered conveyances (Ose-Book) were lined up to make the arguments on behalf of Hon. Kemoh Sesay and ensure he was granted bail. Afterall, it was not a wilful absence but due to illness. After several days in hiding, the judicial assurances were got under the leadership of Opposition Leader Hon. Ernest Bai Koroma. With all legal arguments conducted, Hon. Kemoh Sesay came back out of hiding and the case continued. That was some six years ago.
Fast forward to 2012 and Hon. Robin Faley of the opposition Sierra Leone Peoples Party (SLPP) finds himself in need of an ordinary landed conveyance (Ose-Book) to bail him as he faces charges for birth certificate fraud. No-one within the SLPP hierarchy can step up to save him so he spends several long days locked up behind bars inside Kenema State Prisons.
One person (name with-held) tried to perpetuate a fraud upon the courts by tendering an ordinary house plan with no registered conveyance accompanying it. Naturally, since the requirement of a bond is to assure the presence of the accused in court or loss of the amount bonded, a registered conveyance is the only assurance a Law Court takes for certain bonds.
Unfortunately for Hon. Faley, most of his immediate family members all live out of the country. Most unfortunately for him also, his political party (SLPP) is different from the political party (APC) led by President Ernest Bai Koroma. Personally, no matter their differences, I am sure President Koroma would not leave one of his APC Parliamentarians to languish in jail simply for want of a registered conveyance (Ose-Book).
© Copyright by Awareness Times
Newspaper in Freetown, Sierra Leone.
