TASK-FORCE SWEEP CLEARED PM? By SAM KOIM With respect to the headlines “Sweep Team Clears PM” of “the National” newspaper of instant and the follow up queries by the media, the following statements formed part of the media release yesterday but were not adequately covered. Notwithstanding what has been released yesterday, we reiterate that:- • First and foremost, we do not have any authority to convict or exonerate a person suspected of committing a crime. However, we do make a professional judgement/assessment whether to pursue a case based on the availability of the evidence. • Considering the availability of the evidence, we find that to proceed against the Prime Minister of this country on the letter of 24th January 2012 alone at this stage is unsustainable, let alone PM denies authoring or signing it. • There is however abundance of evidence that the public officials (elected or employed) at Departments of Finance and Treasury initiated and made the payments. They wilfully failed their duty to allow the bills to be properly vetted by the DJAG despite so many requests by DJAG. We conclude that they collaborated than being directed by the alleged letter of the Prime Minister. Their cases stand alone on their own merits. • The onus is on the State to build a strong case to proof beyond reasonable doubt once the case is put through the courts, not the courts. The Courts make findings on the strength of the prosecution case. Our ultimate aim is to secure conviction, not just arresting for the sake of arresting. The chances of securing conviction depend on the strength of the case we build at the investigation stage. Arrest comes after we are satisfied that we have a strong case supported by overwhelming evidence. • If however, during the course of the ongoing investigations there is fresh evidence emerging apart from the letter warranting a further inquiry into the involvement of the Prime Minister, we will pursue it. The investigations are still continuing. Ends/////
Posted on: Thu, 16 Jan 2014 06:50:36 +0000
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