Lawyers for Yasmin Jusu Sherriff on Friday filed a motion to the Supreme Court of Sierra Leone to seek directions and intervention to clarify whether it is the constitutional right of the Director of Public Prosecution (DPP) to discharge a private summon against Minister Sylvia Blyden using the ‘Nolle Prosequi Powers’.
Francis Ben Kaifala and Co. representing the Plaintiff Yasmin Jusu Sherriff believe that it is the constitutional right of the Attorney General only to use the Nolle Prosequi power and because of the misunderstanding seeks answers from the Supreme Court.
In early October 2016, Lawyer Yasmin Jusu Sherriff filed a Private Information and criminal summon against Minister Sylvia Olayinka Blyden and Abdul Malik Bangura for seditious libel but on 7th October 2016 Presiding Magistrate Aboubhakarr Binneh Kamara discharged the matter on the authority of DPP using the ‘Nolle Prosequi Powers’ despite strong argument and protest by defence Lawyer Francis Ben Kaifala.
According to Kaifala “we seek the supreme Court to explain as to whether the Director of Public Prosecution had the powers to sign a Nolle Prosequi or indeed absent himself from the Court in this matter and not ensuring that a law officer was present in Court” when the order was issued.
He said their motion is to register their dissatisfaction over the manner in which Magistrate Kamara discharged the matter with direct orders from the DPP and for the Supreme Court to intervene and provide answers to their wavering minds of “whether the power to exercise Nolle Prosequi remain vested solely in the Attorney-General and Minister of Justice except where he orders in writing any law officer to exercise same. Whether the constitution and CPA stated that the DPP has any Nolle Prosequi power, whether he can exercise that power by merely sending a notice in writing to the Magistrate Court.”
He urged the Supreme Court to look into the issue of Magistrate Binneh Kamara whether he acted properly when he presided over the case and dismissed the matter based on a piece of paper which he referred to as ‘Nolle Prosequi’.
Kaifala furthered that the Plaintiff Yasmin Jusu seeks the Supreme Court to make a declaration that the decision of the DPP is a clear violation of his fundamental human right emphasizing that the Court should make a declaration that the AG and DPP take into consideration the principles contained in chapter 2 of the constitution in performing their duties noting that the Court should also make a declaration that the document used by the DPP to order the dismissal of the matter should be expunged from the court records or otherwise that Magistrate Kamara lift the stay of the proceedings he ordered.
By Mariam S Bah
Monday November 07, 2016
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