Charles Bissue
The High Court has dismissed an application filed by Charles Bissue, the first accused in an ongoing criminal trial, seeking the temporary release of his passport to enable him to travel to the United Kingdom and the United States.
The ruling, delivered on Monday morning, cited weak justification for the request and sided with the position of prosecutors from the Office of the Special Prosecutor (OSP), who opposed the motion.
According to the court, the supporting documentation presented by Mr. Bissue did not demonstrate a compelling reason to warrant the release of his passport. Notably, the judge pointed out that the flight ticket attached to the application was purchased only after the motion had been filed, casting doubt on the urgency or genuineness of the travel intent.
Furthermore, the court noted that the school admission letter submitted by the accused was merely provisional and did not amount to conclusive evidence of a pressing academic commitment abroad.
Prosecutors maintained that the travel request lacked credibility and appeared to be an attempt to evade accountability. They argued that there was no legitimate or verifiable reason for Mr. Bissue to leave the jurisdiction while legal proceedings were ongoing.
The OSP, in a post on its official Facebook page, affirmed the court’s decision, describing it as consistent with their own assessment of the application’s lack of merit.
Mr. Bissue, a former presidential staffer and Secretary to the Inter-Ministerial Committee on Illegal Mining (IMCIM), is currently facing charges related to corruption and public office misconduct. His trial is part of broader investigations by the OSP into alleged illegalities in the mining sector.
