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Judge Advocate Otto During

This just in from the court-martial being conducted, sort of, in Freetown, Sierra Leone:

Judge Advocate Otto During, yesterday 13 May blasted the prosecution for failing to attend court proceedings and for unnecessary delays at the on-going court Martial involving 13 military personnel for alleged mutiny. 

Lead prosecutor, Major Vincent Sowa, who took over the case after the sudden illness of State Counsel Gerald Soyei, was supposed to have addressed the court yesterday but failed to attend. 

It was not only the prosecution who were absent in court but the defence lawyers and the presiding president, Lieutenant Colonel B. Jusu, who travelled to Gabon on a Cyber Information conference and will not be available until 25th May 2015. 

However Judge Advocate Otto During was not pleased with the prosecution, stating that “I notice the prosecution is absent in court, whether the president is absent or not, the prosecution should be in court. This is a state case and a serious matter, so therefore the prosecution should take their case seriously” he warned. 

It’s been a year now since the trial of 13 Military Personnel for allegedly committing mutiny against the state and the Government of President Ernest Koroma in August 2013 and the soldiers are complaining about the delay of their trial.

The case is set to resume in two weeks. The one favorable thing that can be said about this endless, drifting proceeding is that it is open to the news media.