The prosecution yesterday closed its case as directed by Magistrate Chandra Sohan in the matter for which social activist Mark Benschop and columnist Freddie Kissoon are accused of obstructing municipal works at the Cemetery Road dumpsite.
When the matter was called, the prosecution made an application to the court to be granted a date of adjournment to have three additional witnesses testify; indicating that though they were notified, they had not turned up to court. The defendants, who have been representing themselves in the absence of their attorneys, however, strongly objected to the prosecution’s request.
The jointly-charged duo argued that the additional witnesses the prosecution is hoping to call have consistently been absent from the proceedings. Kissoon opined that the constant absence of the witnesses has gravitated to the stage where a mockery is being made of the court.
In his objection, a visibly irate Kissoon further said that the prosecution has been dishonest in its handling of the matter as they have always led the court to believe that the witnesses would be produced to the court but to no avail.
It was upon this premise that the defendants made an application for the case to be closed. “All the prosecution has been doing is asking for adjournments to have these witnesses present who never show up,” Benschop stressed.
Magistrate Chandra Sohan, who is presiding over the matter, after listening intently to the accused, told the prosecution that it was not justifiable enough for it to only say that “witnesses were notified and are not here.”
The prosecution, persistent in the request to be granted an adjournment, assured the court that the witnesses were going to be present on the next occasion if its request was acknowledged. This announcement by the prosecution was however met with strong opposition from Benschop and Kissoon, who contended that this has been the unrelenting pattern of the prosecution.
This practice, they said, has to stop as it has been contributing to an unnecessary waste of time in the proceedings.
It was at this point that the presiding magistrate asked the prosecution to have a look at its file.
As he combed through the document page by page, the magistrate asked the prosecution for “Ambrose’s” statement [one of the additional three police witnesses the prosecution intended to call to the stand] indicating that that the statement for that witness was not in the file.
At this juncture, Prosecutor Kevin London stood and in his address to the court said that while he could not say why the statement was not in the file and where it was, he is “sure” that the witness will “bring it to court on the next occasion.”
Expressing outrage at this revelation, Kissoon questioned the merit of both the witness and what he is likely to tell the court should he show an appearance. The defendant in his argument also questioned the reason behind “Ambrose’s” statement being missing from the file when by its own admission, the prosecution said that “Ambrose” is an important witness in the case as he assisted in conducting investigations into the matter. “How could there be no documentary trail by “Ambrose” who supposedly conducted investigation in this matter,” Kissoon asked.
Kissoon further went on to say in his address to the court that “I will submit that higher forces wanted to have us, Benschop and myself, locked up and so since they [the higher forces] have achieved that, they are now making a mockery of us, the court and the prosecution.”
Acknowledging that the prosecution has been repeatedly asking for adjournments to have the additional witnesses testify who have consistently been absent from court, Magistrate Sohan told the prosecution to close its case.
After the case was closed, the defendants were then given a chance to make their oral submissions to the court. Benschop, in his submissions said that the three witnesses who have testified so far have all presented conflicting reports to the court which questions their credibility. Kissoon in his submissions reiterated what he had said to the court earlier in his address and expressed similar sentiments as Benschop.
The matter was adjourned to May 16, for the prosecution to respond to submissions made by the defence.
The men are represented by attorneys Nigel Hughes and Khemraj Ramjattan but the defendants have been representing themselves in the matter on a number of occasions in the absence of their lawyers.
The allegation against the duo is that on December 21, 2010 at Cemetery Road, Georgetown, they obstructed the municipal worker from performing his duty at the said dumpsite.
Benschop and Kissoon have since denied the charge levelled against them and have been granted their pre-trial liberty after being placed on $1 bail each.
