April 28, 2021
By: Audrey .R. John
The court of appeals presided by Justice Ivan Ansumana Sesay, Justice Momoh –Jah Stevens and Justice Adrian Fisher over the appeals filed by Lawyer Ady Macaulay, Lawyer Africanus Sesay and CO for and on behalf of the then Permanent Secretary at the Ministry of Education, Umaru A. Conteh, has been dismissed with a cost of fifty million Leones. The appeal court further ordered the immediate arrest accused by the under Sheriff and referred to the Anti- Corruption Commission for further investigation for misappropriation and abused of office amounting to over 74 billion Leones.
The court in its jurisdiction upheld the findings and recommendations of the sole commissioner of the Commission of Inquiry Justice Biobele and white paper issued out by government on September 2020.
The court ruled that the constitutional instrument No. 64 gives the mandate for the establishment of the commission and that the commissioner acted in accordance with the law, though this has been the challenged by the appellant counsel that the sole commissioner acted ultra vires.
The grounds of appeals is not to listen to the matter afresh which is solely the work of the court below, but rather looked at the findings based on facts and law on the judgment from the court below.
Ady Macaulay argument was that his client was not a person of interest in the COI and that a collaborator cannot be a person of interest, said by the court adding further that the sole commissioner has the right to inquire / investigate with a person of interest even though his name was not on the list as contained on pages 4A-C and the commissioner acted as required by Law.
In response, the respondent Lawyer R.B. Kowa said there are no adverse findings against the appellant but stressed that there was sufficient evidence against the appellant as collaborator in the Ministry of Education.
The court therefore unanimously agreed that based on the findings, it dismissed the appeal as filed with a cost of fifty million Leones and ordered that the appellant be immediately arrested and onwardly referred to the Anti- Corruption commission for further investigations.
Umaru Conteh was the permanent secretary at the Ministry of Education since 2016-2017 and falls within the relevant period of review.