A new law published in an official journal this week (in Sierra Leone)
means that RUF leader Corporal Foday Sankoh could face trial without a
lawyer. The law, which was introduced under emergency provisions
published in March which gives President Kabbah powers to enact laws,
states that "a trial shall not be invalidated or adjourned merely
because of the absence of a legal practitioner representing that
person," adding that the defendant has the right to represent himself.
Judicial officials in Freetown said that if RUF leader Sankoh has not
secured defense counsel by Thursday, the High Court will proceed with
his case. Up to now, no lawyer has agreed to take his case.

Sankoh, by no means, is not my favorite person on earth, given the
atrocities he has wrecked on the people of Sierra Leone.  For my part, I
have lost two relatives in the rebel episode and I put the blame
squarely on Sankoh's head.  But that does not deny him his
constitutional rights as a Sierra Leonean.  Legal representation is a
constitutional right accorded every citizen, and president Kabba being a
lawyer himself, should be the last person to flaunt that right.  If
every lawyer in the country refuses to represent Foday Sankoh, the
government can and must ensure that it finds a lawyer for him.  Getting
a lawyer from one of the West African countries should not pose an
insurmountable task for the government, nor will the cost be so
exorbitant that it cannot afford; this has been done in the past and it
can surely be done again. To give the president special dispensation to
promulgate laws under the cloak of an emergency power, in my opinion, is
a recipe for disaster and a sure way of creating dictatorships

It is true that those of us who refuse to learn from history will
continue to make the same mistakes. The lessons from the Siaka Stevens
era are still fresh in our minds.  He was never a bad man, nor was he
even a dictator that he ended to be, but, collectively, we  made him one
through some cowardly legal circumventions as the one now being given to
Kabba. This is a dangerous precedent and one that seriously undermines
our rule of law. On the other hand, to allow Sankoh to represent himself
with his fifth grade level of education is bound to make a mockery of
our judicial process and, certainly,  a bad idea.

On another note, President Charles Taylor announced at a press
conference Saturday the arrest of several Liberians allegedly trained at
Camp Zimmi in Sierra Leone to destabilize his government. He said they
would soon be put on display. Taylor said several others were still
being trained at the camp, and that he was fully aware of their
activities. Taylor said the government of Sierra Leone had no knowledge
of the training operation, and he commended President Kabbah for the
level of assistance he has provided in ensuring that peace and stability
prevail in the sub-region.

I rest my case.