MP Vokia and wife Ethel and co-accused election conspiracy case dismissed by High Court due to contradictory testimonies
THE Member of Parliament (MP) for North East Guadalcanal, Jamie Vokia, his wife Ethel and three others who were tried on the charges of conspiracy to defeat justice and interfere with a witness in relation to the 2019 National General Election have been acquitted on the ground of contradictory testimonies by the prosecution witnesses.
This was after Chief Magistrate Emma Garo found that MP Vokia, his wife and the three other co-accused—Rose Tala, a former Guadalcanal Provincial Assembly (MPA) member, Moses Beacon, and Polycarp Pereseni had no case to answer to on the charges of Conspiracy to Defeat Justice and Interference with a Witness.
CM Garo then ordered that the charge be dismissed and all five defendants acquitted.
“I find the defendants not guilty.
“I acquit all the defendants.”
This was after she took into account the stark and irreconcilable inconsistencies in the evidence of prosecution witness Hilda Vuturua, the failure by the prosecution to produce two sworn statements and the medical report by Doctor Divi Ogaoga and also the prosecution’s failure to provide evidence to prove that Ms Vuturua was lawfully bound as a witness to give evidence before the High Court in the matter of Sikua versus Vokia.
CM Garo said combining the foregoing with all the flaws in the prosecution case, as set out in this ruling, she found that the prosecution failed to provide sufficient evidence to enable her to establish that the defendants have a case to answer to.
CM Garo’s ruling was made in response to a No –Case to Answer submission made by the defendant’s lawyer Wilson Rano of Rano & Company at the close of the prosecution case.
The prosecution closed its case after calling two witnesses.
The two witnesses were former Prime Minister and former Opposition Leader Dr Derek
Sikua, who filed this criminal case, and a woman named Hilda Vuturua.
Ms Vuturua was a witness for Vokia in the election petition case filed by Dr Sikua against MP Vokia in 2020 after he lost the 2019 National General Election to the defendant (MP Vokia) but the prosecution alleged that she was never produced to court.
The prosecution case was that MP Vokia directed his agents to bring Ms Vuturua from her home village to testify on his behalf in the election petition case filed against him by Dr Sikua.
However, when Ms Vuturua decided to tell the truth after witnessing her son Walter Sale give evidence in court, she saw Mrs Vokia give money to her grandson Basil Dii to induce him to vote for her husband.
The prosecution alleged that was when the defendants interfered and prevented Ms Vuturua from going to Court.
It was also alleged the defendants took Ms Vuturua to the lawyer’s office to make a new sworn statement, asserting she could not attend court because she was sick and did not want to testify against her son.
To support this claim, the defendants brought Mrs Vuturua to a medical center where they obtained a medical report to support their claim that she was too ill to testify.
Mr Rano in his No-Case-to-Answer submission stated that evidences presented by the two prosecution witnesses were insufficient and inconsistent.
He had submitted Dr Sikua’s failure to secure the attendance of key witnesses undermined the prosecution case.
Mr Rano had submitted that his reliance on the testimony of witnesses who were not present or adequately examined in court significantly weakened the credibility of his allegation.
He further submitted that whilst Dr Sikua insisted on cross-examining Ms Vuturua, Dr Sikua failed to take the procedural steps to ensure she attended court.
Mr Rano also argued that Dr Sikua failed to show any incident of the defendant’s agreeing together to prevent the witness from giving evidence.
CM Garo said the crux of the submission by Mr Rano is that the failure by Dr Sikua to take the necessary procedural steps to secure attendance of key witnesses significantly undermined the prosecution case.
Mr Rano also submitted that Ms Vuturua presented inconsistent and contradictory testimony.
Public Prosecutor Sabrina Habu, on the other hand, submitted that there was sufficient evidence to establish that the defendants do have a case to answer.
The court heard that Dr Sikua insisted on that six witnesses to be called to give evidence in the election petition trial in 2020 because at that time he knew three of the witnesses were staying at the Vokias’ residence.
Dr Sikua said he knew the three witnesses, Rebecca Lovo, Margret Kova and Hilda Vuturua had stayed with the Vokias and saw no reason why these persons were not called to give evidence in the election petition trial in 2020.
CM Garo said Dr Sikua also stated that another witness Jenny Dii who lives in Honiara and he could not understand why she did not give evidence.
“The particulars of the offence as charged and framed against the defendants allege that the offence of conspiracy to defeat the course of justice and interference with witnesses named only Ms Hilda Vuturua.
“Thus, the failure by Mr Vokia to make available the other five witnesses is irrelevant to the charge that is on foot against the defendants,” she added.
Turning to the evidence -contents of the sworn statements that Ms Vuturua signed on 5 September 2019, CM Garo said they were fabricated and falsified.
“Because of the court’s reasoning as set out in paragraph 41 of this ruling, Ms Vuturua’s evidence regarding the sworn statement she made on 5 September 2019 remains irreconcilable.”
CM Garo said in the absence of evidence to show that Dr Sikua complied with Rules 14.3 5 and rule 14.36 of the CPR, it cannot be said that Mrs Vuturua was a witness, who was lawfully bound to give evidence before the High Court, in the matter of Sikua versus Vokia.
“There is no evidence to show that Mr Vokia relied on the sworn statement of Ms Vuturua dated 5 September 2019 during the trial in the matter of Sikua versus Vokia.”
“The evidence suggests that Mr Vokia withdrew the sworn statement of Ms Vuturua and did not rely on her sworn statement.
“The evidence of Dr Sikua that he only become aware that the defendant would not be calling the six remaining witnesses on 23 January 2020 supports this.”
MP Vokia is the Minister for Traditional Governance, Peace and Ecclesiastical Affairs.
By Assumpta Buchanan
Solomon Star, Honiara
