By ZACHERY PER
FORMER agriculture minister Mathew Siune has been acquitted of firearm and attempted bribery charges by the Kundiawa District Court.
Senior Magistrate Jeffery Siki ruled on Tuesday that the police had failed to prove that Mr Siune was the owner of the firearm and that he tried to bribe his way out of the alleged offence.
He said even though the firearm and ammunition were found at Mr Siune’s residence at Premiers Hill in Kundiawa on July 4, they were more likely to belong to another person who was also there at the time.
Furthermore, the judge said, the police also failed to record a statement from Mr Siune, thereby depriving the former minister of his constitutional right to defend himself.
He said it was the first time that he had encountered such a failure by the police.
Outside the courthouse, Mr Siune said he had maintained his innocence all along and claimed that the charges were the work of some people’s intent on tarnishing his reputation.
“I was very vocal on the issue of arms build-up in the Highlands on the floor of Parliament,” he told The National and vowed to continue his anti-gun stance.
He admitted that the incident affected his election campaign.