By: Hafsatu Z Bangura
Jeneba Sesay made another appearance before Justice King of the high court no.6 on one count of Misappropriation of Public Revenue, contrary to section 36 (1) of the Anti-Corruption Act of 2008.
All three accused persons Abubakarr Sidikie Kamara whom upon information about the indictment went into hiding and the two accused persons are standing trial in absentia of the first accused on misappropriating a total sum of $5.4 billion in air travel taxes paid to them by air travel companies.
According to the indictment by the ACC between March 2018 and September 2019, Abubakarr Sidikie Kamara is charged with four counts of Misappropriation of public revenue, contrary to section 36 (1) of the Anti-Corruption Act 2008 in his then capacity serving as Revenue Officer in the RPRP department of the NRA, Misappropriated a total sum of three billion, eighty eight hundred and seventy eight thousand and five Leones of public revenue, in the form of foreign travel taxes paid by the airliner Royal Air Maroc, and foreign taxes paid by Euro world SL Ltd.
Jeneba Sesay the third accused in her testimony before the court was led in evidence by defense counsel I.A Kamara Esq said a press release marked as Exhibit PP1-2 titled ACC clarification on Africanist Publication on Alleged Corruption Act at the NRA dated 16th October 2020 reference number No. ACC/PR/20/032.
She said when she saw the press release she felt disturbed that the ACC had already convicted her whilst the trial was ongoing and that there was never a time that she had been queried that she Misappropriated such amounts both internal and external Audit reports and that there has been a time that the reconciliation report showed that such amount was missing she said.
She said while reading from the exhibit given to her that the last paragraph of PP2 clearly shows that the tax payer was either not making payment or that there was a syndicate between the tax payer and the bank and that it was on the publication she said she came to know of the settlement between the tax payer and the ACC.
She continued that taxpayers come with the paying slip to do verification and that she uses the slip to verify the amount on the paying slip to the finance officer.
She said she has never received cash or cheque from any customer and that the policy of the NRA is all payments are made at the bank after which the tax payer comes with a paying slip for verification at the NRA.
She furthermore said that she has never received payment from tax payers or wrongfully verify paying slips cause there is no evidence to make such an allegation of Misappropriating public Revenues.
She said she came to know about the Misappropriation of public Revenues when she was invited to the Anti-Corruption Commission.
Exhibit G1-3 letters from the NRA to all taxpayers dated 12th November 2013 with reference number LTO/ET/NRA/12/11/2013 titled new payment method in the banking system.
She said payment above 50million was done through bank swift transfer.
She said in her words that she doesn’t know anything about the alleged money that is being misappropriated and that after she read the publication from ACC she was indicted and summarily dismissed during the trial for something she said she knows nothing about and that she wants to defend herself in the best way possible.
Cross examination by State Counsel inquired from her, about her educational qualifications. She responded that she’s a graduate from the University of Sierra Leone (FBC) and holds a bachelor of honors in Economics.
She also said she was a former planning and evaluation officer at the Ministry of Agriculture Forestry and Food Security from August 2010 and an Administrative officer at GCASO group of companies from August 2010- December 2014 and a Revenue Officer at the NRA and her immediate supervisor is Amara Kandeh Dumbuya.
The matter has been adjourned to the 18th July 2022 for further cross examination by State Counsel.
