Ball in Baki’s court: Damaru

National

By CLIFFORD FAIPARIK
Fraud and anti-corruption detectives have provided all technical advice to Police Commissioner Gari Baki to have Prime Minister Peter O’Neill arrested, Chief Supt Mathew Damaru says.
“The decision is now with Baki,” he said.
“The court’s decision is clear and it is now up to the commissioner to make the call.” He said they provided a report of Tuesday’s national court decision to dismiss O’Neill’s application to review his arrest warrant.
“We met with the commissioner this morning (yesterday) and told him that we have no option but to have the prime minister arrested.
“We told him that the judicial review that was taken out by former police commissioner Geoffrey Vaki in 2014 to review the warrant of arrest on O’Neill has been dismissed.
“Once it is dismissed, the warrant is free to be executed.
“That is the brief that we have given Baki.
“All the legal processes have been exhausted.”
Damaru said O’Neill was facing a criminal case and the matter had to go through criminal proceedings to be dealt with.
“The criminal case cannot go through civil case proceedings,” Damaru said.
“But what they (O’Neill’s lawyers) want to do is use civil court processes to review criminal court proceedings.
“That’s the reason why the court has dismissed the case.
“The only thing is for the prime minister to be interviewed and go through the process.
“He has rights to defend himself.
“If there is a prima facie case, then you can go to the National Court.”
The prime minister is facing investigation for allegedly approving K71 million without the National Executive Council’s sanction to pay legal fees to Paul Paraka’s law firm in 2012.
The firm had been acting on behalf of the State in civil cases.