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.