Assaigo fails in bid to bar media from his court case

By JOSHUA ARLO
THE media have the right to report on any court proceeding as the information before it is open to the public, National Court judge Ambeng Kandakasi said last Friday.
He made the remarks while deliberating on an application filed by Mr Joseph Assaigo to seek an order, among others, to bar the media from reporting the proceeding.
Justice Kandakasi told Mr Assaigo’s lawyer Allan Beniyamai that the court had to be fully satisfied before it could move that motion and asked whether there was secrecy in the matter.
Mr Assaigo is challenging a decision by Chief Secretary Joshua Kalinoe to find him guilty of disciplinary charges against him in connection with the Julian Moti affair. The guilty verdict was conveyed to Mr Assaigo in a letter dated Jan 15, 2007.
The application filed by Mr Assaigo on Feb 9 was to return this Thursday, but was brought before Justice Kandakasi as an urgent application last Friday.
Mr Beniyamai submitted that due to much publicity on the matter, Mr Assaigo was asking for leave to apply for a stay order on the outcome of the dismissal.
However, the court said that the court must be assisted by relevant documents and that more research needed to be done on the basis of grounds to ask for a stay order.
Justice Kandakasi said that normal court procedures must be followed in that service of documents and affidavits of service and notice of service be made.
He said this because no counsel for the defendants named in the application turned up last week.
Counsel for defendants did not make appearance because Mr Assaigo’s counsel failed to inform them to be present last Friday.
Justice Kandakasi ordered that both counsel of parties appear today.

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