Justice Eku Robert has found eleven persons guilty on various corruption offences in the famous “timbergate’ container cases that have been ongoing in the Freetown High Court over the past months.
Those convicted are: Alphajor Y. Bah, dealer in timber, Allieu Turay, and John Bangura, both employees of the Sierra Leone Ports Authority (SLPA), along with John David Williams and Jonathan Deigh, who were convicted for misleading the commission.
The others, Mohamed Allie Bah, Mohamed Kutubu Conteh, Ernest Moisier, Mohamed Sesay, Mohamed Kamara, and Johannes Kawa are all employees of Clearing and Forwarding Agents.
According to the judgment, the eleven persons were found guilty of misappropriation, conspiracy to commit corruption offence and misleading the Commission in relation to illicit timber trade. They were fined Le5m per count with the alternative of three years imprisonment. Thirteen (13) of the other accused persons were acquitted and discharged.
Meanwhile, the thirty three (33) impounded containers loaded with timber which were the subject of the prosecution were also confiscated to the state and ordered to be sold by public auction.
The prosecution was represented by Reginald Sydney Fynn Jrn and Ady Macauley while the defence team was comprised of Yada Williams, Fio Edwards, Osman Jalloh and Roland Nylander.
In another development, the erstwhile Mayor of the Freetown City Council, Herbert Akieremi George Williams and four others, have paid their fines to the Consolidated Revenue Fund. One of the convicts in that matter, Sylvester Konnehi, is yet to comply with the order and a motion for his immediate arrest has been filed.
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