The three were arraigned before Justice Emmanuel Nkea of the Special Criminal Court, charged with three counts, which included conspiracy to carry out a lawful purpose by an unlawful means, giving false information to a public officer, and abuse of office; charges they denied.
When the witness, Nuha Touray, entered into the witness box, defence counsel L.K. Mboge raised an objection, stating that the witness was not the maker of the document, and that the court did not order this witness to appear, but instead the Secretary General, Momodou Sabally.
However, the court decided to hear the witness, and the witness told the court that his name is Nuha Touray, who works at the Office of the President under the Office of the Secretary General, as Secretary to Cabinet.
He said he knew Momodou Sabally, the Secretary General (SG) and Head of Civil Service, and was there to represent him because he was busy with pressing matters of state.
Asked by the trial judge whether he could answer the questions set for the SG, he responded that he would try to answer them.
He was then shown two documents, which he identified in court.
Under crossed-examined by defence counsel LK Mboge, the witness adduced that the two reference numbers of the documents were not the same.
“I do not know what the reference number of exhibit G stands for,” he said, adding that he would not know whether the file of Joseph Wowo was at the Office of the Secretary General.
Asked whether he knows the various way in which information was given to the SG, Nuha Touray answered that what he knows was that instructions are written in files.
He added that he did not know how information is given to the SG by the President.
“I only received the files, and I did not open them,” he said, adding that he did not know whether Exhibit G was from the Office of the President.
“I did not conduct any search for Exhibit E in the Office of the President, and I did not know whether the exhibit exists,” Nuha Touray said.
Responding to questions from defence counsel Borry Touray, the witness said having looked at exhibit E, he knows that the document was signed by the 3rd accused person, Njogu Bah.
Defence counsel E. Jah also asked the witness whether there was anything on the face of exhibit E that showed that exhibit E was not a genuine letter from the Office of the SG, and the witness replied in the negative.
At that juncture, the state announced the close of the prosecution’s case.
Meanwhile, defence counsel L.K. Mboge said he would subpoena two formal witnesses, one of whom was SG Sabally, and John Belford, the Judiciary Secretary.
Counsel E. Jah also told the court that he would file a no-case-to-answer submission.
The case continues on 25 September 2013, for defence.
