Socfin vs Green Scenery contempt case adjourned again
By Mohamed T. Massaquoi
The High Court of Sierra Leone on Tuesday adjourned the contempt of court hearing against the rights campaigner group, Green Scenery for the second time, after a heated debate between the rival counsels.
Green Scenery, through its Executive Director Joseph Rahal, is accused of violating a court ruling on a defamation case brought against it by the agribusiness firm SOCFIN.
It was the second time the contempt case been presided over by Justice Komba Kamanda has been adjourned.
When the case was first called, Socfin wasn’t represented.
SOCFIN initially sued Green Scenery for defamatory libel in connection to a report the campaign group published at the beginning of this year which shed light on the human rights issues raised by SOCFIN’s activities. Green Scenery said they never appeared in any court hearing and therefore never expected that a verdict was reach.
Defense Lawyer, Emmanuel Saffa Abdulai, argued that neither himself nor his client was ever served the verdict of the defamation case.
But Lawyer Momoh Fofanah, Counsel for the plaintiff, insisted that the Defense Counsel was served, noting that they have a way to prove that.
“The only reason why we come to court is to ensure that the orders from court are respected,” said Fofanah on Tuesday.
Justice Komba Kamanda then ordered the plaintiff’s lawyer to provide an affidavit proving that the defense was indeed served.
The case comes back on Wednesday 27 November.
