SLPP members of Parliament recently took many people by surprise when they called for the indictment of former president Ahmad Tejan Kabbah(who is also a former leader of the SLPP) for war crimes and crimes against humanity at a public forum in Freetown.
I recently asked Peter Andersen, a Special Court spokesman, to comment on what may be described as the strange request of the SLPP MPs.
He said Special Court prosecutor Stephen Rapp has laways maintained that there will be no further indictments but he cautiously added that the prosecutor’s official line has been that while a prosecutor never says "never", he (prosecutor) does not anticipate any further indictments.
Asked what would be the court’s reaction if the current government were to decide to indict or prosecute any member of the former government on their stewardship during the war,Andersen said:
"It would not be appropriate for the Special Court to comment about other courts, or to speculate about what other courts may or may not do."
Asked to comment on the fundraising efforts of the Court so far, Andersen pointed out that fundraising has always been a challenge because the Court is funded by voluntary contributions from interested countries.
"The nature of the process is that countries cannot commit funds for future years. Funds are released according to a country’s budget cycle. The last I heard, there was money in the bank to last until February, with additional commitments having been made. This was a month or two back. I am confident that the countries which set the Court up and have backed it financially will not allow it to fail for lack of funds," he said.
The Patriotic Vanguard wanted to know where the CDF indictees would serve their sentences.
In reply, the Special Court spokesman said no decision has been made yet on where the CDF convicted persons will serve their sentences because the appeals process is still underway.
"The Prosecutor is asking that the sentences be adjusted upwards, while Kondewa is appealing his conviction and sentence. Fofana is not appealing, but is represented by appeals counsel to respond to appeals by the Prosecution," he explained.
He further added:
"The speculation was that Fofana, who would have about a year and a half left on his sentence as handed down by the Trial Chamber, could serve it here(Sierra Leone) because the Special Court will still be in operation at that time. Kondewa, if his sentence stands, would have two more years than that. The AFRC convicted persons received much longer terms from the Trial Chamber. Presumably (because the sentences are being appealed) the Court and its detention facility will no longer be here by the time their sentences end."
Photo: Peter Andersen, left, and PV Holland correspondent Teddy Foday-Musa at The Hague in June this year.
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