After a week’s break, the trial in the fine coal case resumed on Thursday 21 December 2023 at the Tribunal de Grande Instance de Ouaga I with the appearance of a Customs officer and an officer from the Burkina Faso Bureau of Mines and Geology (Bureau des Mines et de la Géologie du Burkina Faso – BUMIGEB). The two officers told the prosecutor that they had only carried out orders from their superiors. They could not be held responsible for forging the minutes.
Once on the stand, the 2 agents (a customs agent and a BUMIGEB agent) stated that they had taken part in the process of packing and weighing the Essakane fine coal. But they were not present during the sampling and bagging process. They also stated that even at the weighing stage, they did not participate in the weighing of all the bags.
The prosecutor therefore sought to find out why they signed the minutes (procès-verbaux – PV) stating that they had taken part in the entire weighing process when this was not the case.
“When I arrived, the weighing had already finished. I then called my superior to report back to him, because I noticed that this weighing session was different from the one we’re used to. He told me that as the BUMIGEB technicians were present, I could sign the minutes. So I signed it”, replied the customs officer.
“As the administration is a continuity, the person who preceded me passed on these weighing notes. I took them and attended the rest of the weighing to complete it. It was always the BUMIGEB, so I signed,” replied the BUMIGEB agent.
The prosecutor went on to explain that they had not done their job properly, because they had not made sure that it was fine coal that they were weighing, and that they had signed the minutes even though they had not taken part in the whole process to be sure of the weights of the fine coal. As a result, Essakane ended up with 67 tonnes of surplus and other minerals in the shipment compared to what it declared.
“All we did was carry out the orders we were given. If we stick to the purpose of our mission order, our work was well done and we never strayed from our mission,” retorted the two agents.
“If, at the time of weighing, you come to the conclusion that the coal was not fine coal, are you going to sign the minutes?” the prosecutor asked the BUMIGEB agent. “Mr Prosecutor, I can’t answer that question”, he replied.
“We take note. We note that your concern is to go and sign the minutes and leave”, observed the prosecutor.
The presiding judge then suspended the hearing. It resumed on Friday 22 December 2023 with the appearance of the two officers for the same offence of forgery of minutes.
Georges YOUL
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