The hearing in the #affaire_charbon_fin case resumed on 9 October 2023 at the Tribunal de Grande Instance in Ouaga I. The debates centred on the nature of the solids contained in the 02 canteens. After opening the 2 canteens, no gold ingots were found in them. The civil party’s lawyers have asked for precautionary measures. The court’s decision is expected on 11 October 2023.
Since the opening of the trial in the fine coal affair, the prosecutor has remained convinced that 02 canteens contained gold ingots. This is disputed by the experts and the defence lawyers.
On 9 October 2023, the president of the court ordered the opening of the 02 canteens. The Burkina Faso Bureau of Mines and Geology (Bureau des Mines et de la Géologie du Burkina Faso – BUMIGEB) has been asked to provide the personal protective equipment that the people responsible for opening the canteens must wear.
As a reminder, the hearing was suspended on Friday 6 October 2023 because the keys to the canteens were not available.
The first canteen was opened at 10.45am. The bailiff touched the contents and confirmed that they were solid bodies. The president of the court asked the bailiff to present the sample to the court. He then bandits the sample wrapped in plastic.
The judge asks a volunteer in the room to come and touch the sample. One person made the trip to see that the elements were “as hard as pebbles”.
The president of the court then invited all the parties involved in the trial to make their own observations. They stated that they were solid bodies, hard to the touch, the nature of which had yet to be determined.
The prosecutor asked the experts to show a sample of the solid bodies where the gold could be seen with the naked eye. The expert complied and presented a sample where gold particles were visible.
However, the experts say they found unusual features in these solid bodies that caught their attention. This is why they have been isolated.
Regarding the sample presented to the court at the judge’s request. Essakane’s representative stated that it consisted of “refractory bricks”.
A lawyer for the State asked the Essakane representative to confirm whether gold could be seen with the naked eye on these solid bodies, as the experts claim.
The Essakane representative confirmed this, but explained that it was a technical fault in the processing that had led to gold deposits on the solids.
After inspecting the first canteen, the second was opened and the bailiff inspected its contents. This second canteen also contained solid bodies.
A defence lawyer asked the experts if they had seen “gold bars”. No! they replied.
However, the Prosecutor pointed out to the President of the Court that the experts, in an objective and scientific spirit, should not answer the question because in their expert report they had already described the contents as “solid bodies”.
Is it possible to determine the gold content of solids? asked the President of the Court to the Essakane representative (a metallurgist). Yes, he replied. Is it possible to determine these grades in Burkina Faso? replied the judge. Yes, replied the metallurgist.
If it can be done in Burkina Faso, why did you want to export it? asked the judge. The Essakane representative explained that at the time of the incident, the Essakane plant did not have an incinerator to process the solid waste.
“In this case, the State’s rights and interests are valued at more than 200 billion FCFA,” said a lawyer for the State.
The latter has asked the court to take precautionary measures, as it is not certain that the offending companies will still exist after the court ruling, or even if they do, it is not clear that they will be able to pay the fines, given that they exploit non-renewable resources.
But for the defence lawyers, the court in charge of this trial has no jurisdiction to order protective seizures, as this is not one of its prerogatives.
The debates stalled over the request by the State’s lawyers for protective seizures.
The court has decided to suspend the hearing in order to deliberate on the matter on 11 October 2023 at 9am. The hearing is therefore adjourned to be resumed on that date.
Y G
#Mines_Actu_Burkina
