State satisfied with EBK’s bail
By Mohamed Jaward Nyallay
Attorney General and Minister of Justice, Mohamed Lamin Tarawaly has said the state is satisfied with the court ruling regarding Ernest Bai Koroma’s bail. Tarawalley was making the statement at a press briefing at his office on Friday.
“Since 2018 we have respected the rule of law. If the court has decided this, we will not arm twist the court. We accept it, we are satisfied. You heard the President yesterday, we respect the rule of law,” Tarawally said.
On Wednesday, after hours of protracted legal arguments between the state and the defense, Koroma was granted bail and medical leave. Koroma’s team had filed a motion at the High Court to get this done, much to the opposition of the AG’s office who is prosecuting him for alleged involvement in the failed coup attempt last November.
Justice S. O Taylor ruled that the former president be granted the request to be taken to Nigeria for a “specialist” treatment.
In a national address on Thursday evening, President Julius Maada Bio referred to the decision as an example of how fair the entire legal proceeding has been.
“…it reinforces our position that the trial is not a political witch-hunt but one aimed at unravelling the truth behind the events of November 26, 2023,” Bio said.
This case has been deeply polarizing, politically. AG said no one was charged because of who they are or any other personal reason. Tarawalley said his department has enough evidence to put anyone away, who has been charged for crimes related to the November coup attempt.
“When we charge you it means we have enough evidence against you to convict you. We don’t charge people becoz we don’t like their faces, we didn’t pick and choose who to charge, people are not charged because of who they are,” he said.
Since the decision to grant Koroma bail, he has now flown out to Nigeria, and is expected to be back in court on March 6 this year.
Already ECOWAS have been using diplomatic approach to fly Koroma in to exile in Nigeria, the government of Sierra Leone say the case against him and all others will go on.
There have been growing questions about what happens if the former President doesn’t return to face the four count charges against him, including treason.
The AG said it’s a situation his office will not pre-empt until March 6 when the case is supposed to resume.
“If there is prolongation, God forbid the doctors say there is something much more serious and they need more time, there is liberty to apply for that. Sureties can come forward and apply. For now we can’t predict or speculate, let’s just wait until March 6,” he said.
