Lawyer Gavao made this request after the cross examination session of the Anti- Corruption Commission investigator, Joseph Bockarie Noah who served as the first prosecution witness in the trial.
In reply, Justice Reginald Fynn – the presiding Judge, advised Lawyer Gavao to be patient.
During his statement to the Anti-Corruption Commission, Victor Foh continuously alleged that the former president was aware of every twist and turn that was happening within the hajj committee.
Foh told the court that he was assigned by the former president to supervise the Hajj committee by serving as mediator between the then Social Welfare Minister, Dr. Sylvia Blyden and the Hajj Committee, and that he was later removed from the said position and placed in charge of welcoming dignitaries from other countries during the mudslide scourge in the country.
Foh however accepted receiving sixty thousand US dollars from one Ibrahim Fakeh Conteh (5th Defendant) who was introduced to him by the former president but later asked the 5th Defendant to return the said money to the Anti Corruption Commission (ACC).
The ACC alleged that eighty thousand US dollars was missing, in which six past government officials including the former Vice President and former Mines Minister Minkailu Mansaray are accused of conspiring to commit a corruption offence, contrary to the ACC Act of 2008.
Victor Foh – Supervisor of the Hajj Committee, Minkailu Mansaray – Chairman of the Hajj Committee, and Sheka Sahid Kamara – Special Assistant to former President Koroma and Secretary of the Hajj Committee, Mohamed Alie Bah – former Minister in the Office of the Vice President, Ibrahim Fakeh Conteh, and Abu Bakarr Carew – former Permanent Secretary at the Ministry of Social Welfare, Gender and Children’s Affairs were brought before the court in August 2018 on eight count charges of conspiracy to commit a corruption offence, misappropriation of public funds and engaging in a project without proper planning.
The six accused persons denied all the allegations leveled against them. The matter comes up again.
