The protracted corruption case between the state and the former minister of Agriculture, Dr Harry Will, was over the weekend dismissed at the Appeal Court in favour of Dr Will. The charges were brought against the accused on 1st July 1999. It will be recalled that Harry Will, Lamin Feika and Bockarie Kakay trading as Mariama and Sons conspired to defraud the state $135,000 for the purchase of 100 tons of multiplication seeds in Ghana and Ivory Coast to be distributed to farmers in Sierra Leone. The contract between the appellant and the government was monitored and supervised by the World Bank which mandated Dr Will as minister of Agriculture to purchase multiplication seeds and distribute them to farmers nationwide. But Harry Will was charged by the SLPP government for corruption and later found guilty of procuring rotten rice seedlings. Delivering the judgment over the weekend Justice Tolla Thompson said all the charges brought against Dr Harry were dismissed by the Appeal Court because they did not have any iota of truth.He added that witnesses cross examined by the court and the World Bank team proved that the accused, Harry Will, bought 8,540bushels of multiplication seeds at Kambia District for distribution nationwide. After the judgment Dr Harry Will told friends and family members present at the Law Courts’ façade that, “at long last we have justice in Sierra Leone.”He also told Awoko in an interview after the judgment that, “the then SLPP government had wanted to disgrace and frustrate my good work for this country, but thank God justice has taken its course without fear or favour”. He also expressed thanks and appreciation to his lawyer, family members and friends who stood by him during the struggle for justice.
By Saidu Bah