Court defers plea taking for 15 ex-SSU officers facing fresh abduction charges

The court directed the Office of the Director of Public Prosecutions (ODPP) to first establish the status of pending appeals and proceedings before the Superior Courts challenging the fresh charging of the former officers.

The direction was issued after the court considered the history of previous proceedings involving the accused persons and the orders issued by the High Court and Court of Appeal.

The defence led by lawyer Danstan Omari  had asked the court not to proceed with plea taking, arguing that the fresh charges substantially reproduce an earlier case involving the same accused persons, facts and evidence. The lawyers also pointed to pending proceedings and orders before the Superior Courts.

The prosecution, however, maintained that the ODPP had the constitutional authority to institute fresh criminal proceedings and that the termination of the earlier case did not permanently bar a fresh prosecution.

In its directions, the court opted to examine the status and effect of the pending proceedings before allowing the fresh case to proceed to plea-taking.

The court was particularly concerned with the orders and proceedings arising from earlier litigation, including matters before the High Court and the Court of Appeal, which the defence said had a bearing on the fresh charges.

The case has its origins in proceedings arising from the alleged abduction of the two Indian nationals and their taxi driver in 2022. The accused officers had previously faced related criminal proceedings before the fresh charges were instituted.

The dispute over the new prosecution has generated several court cases, including a High Court petition, proceedings concerning the murder charges and an appeal before the Court of Appeal.

The court directed the ODPP to track the pending appeals and establish their current status before the matter is allowed to proceed.

The directive means the 15 former officers will not take plea in the fresh case at this stage.

The matter will return to court after the status of the pending Superior Court proceedings and the relevant orders have been established.