Tribunal over-rules objections

A LEADERSHIP Tribunal yesterday over-ruled objections raised by a defence lawyer in regard to the tender of an affidavit into evidence by a witness for proceedings.
The objection was over-ruled by the tribunal after the leader, Melchior Pep’s lawyer Paul Mawa objected on grounds that, firstly, the statements of reasons tendered by witness for prosecution, Nemo Yalo, were merely allegations formed and raised by the Ombudsman Commission (OC).
The second being that, paragraphs 8 and 9 of Mr Yalo’s affidavit violated Section 27(4) of the amended Organic Law on Duties and Responsibilities of Leadership, thereby, cannot be admitted into evidence.
The tribunal chaired by Justice Nicholas Kirriwom, with senior magistrates Regget Marum and Felix Tera, however, unanimously dismissed the objection by Mr Mawa on the following grounds:
n The documents constituting statement of reasons were not evidence per se, whereby, the evidentiary value of those documents become alive when the relevant witnesses alludes to them and add their significance for the purpose of the tribunal proceeding;
n Mr Yalo is the right person to place documents before the tribunal, not to be relied upon as evidence, but as part of the materials he compiled for the purposes of the tribunal proceeding and;
n The documents constituting the statement of reasons were extracted from the commission’s files, thereby, under Section 61 of the Evidence Act, Mr Yalo is the right person to tender affidavit into the tribunal proceeding as part of the official or business records of the OC.
“The chief justice under Section 27(7)(e) of the Organic Law on Duties and Responsibilities of Leadership considered the referral and appointed this tribunal, whose task is now to investigate the allegations and arrive at its findings,” Justice Kirriwom said.

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