ACC: lawyer for assassin walks out of court
Defence counsel for Mohamed Osman Sesay (alias Assassin), who is facing charges for corruption offences, has appeared to have abandoned his client when he failed to announce representation on his behalf and later walked out of court while the matter was in session. It remains unclear why Mr. Emmanuel Saffa Abdulai did not announce his representation, and his colleagues on the other side, prosecution counsels led by Ady Macauley, said they could not tell why.
The seeming abandonment came at a crucial time when the 7th prosecution witness was testifying in court, before Justice Miatta Samba. The witness, Fatima Pearce, a marketer at Guarantee Trust bank, said she knew the accused person Mohamed Osman Sesay when three of them (Mohamed Osman Sesay, John Mason and Dominic Anselm Joseph Beary) came to the bank to open an account in July 2014. She said they presented her copies of relevant documents including a memorandum of understanding, a certificate of business incorporation and a certificate of business registration.
She told the court that the three men were signatories to the account named Network Proximity Sierra Leone Limited and she was the ‘account’s officer’. She would know when monies were credited into it, and Dominic Anselm Joseph Beary, Director for the company resident in the UK, was crediting the account.
She recalled on the 25th of May 2015 that there was a withdrawal of ten thousand United States Dollars (10,000 USD) made by Mohamed Osman Sesay, and an internal transfer of fifty thousand United States Dollars to the account of one Mohamed Koroma instructed by the same Mr. Sesay. The witness told the court that the instruction was made in writing and if given time would bring to court the document.
Meanwhile, Mr. Abdulla’s seeming departure might pose difficulty for the accused person. His familiarity with the matter and commitment to same might not be immediately replaced. The Judge had to warn the accused person to take note and be attentive, since he would have to cross-examine the witness.
Later in the proceedings, a certain lawyer Pious Sesay announced representation for the accused person. Apparently, his big assignment would be to go through bulky files, getting prepared for the matter. He therefore asked for an adjournment up to next week.
Dennis Jones was also cautioned to find a lawyer since it appears Mr. Abdulai is backing out.
Mohamed Osman Sesay (alias assassin) is answering an eight-count charge at the High Court including Conspiracy to Commit a Corruption offence and Deceiving the Principal under the Anti-Corruption Act of 2008. Both Mohamed and Dennis remain incarcerated.
Ady Macauley, Jeelo Kainwo and Mohamed Muctuarr Sow represented the Anti-Corruption Commission. The matter was adjourned to Monday 14 March 2016.
By Alimamy Lahai Kamara
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