Let Justice Prevail
Moses A. Orang'o
Written by Moses A. Orang'o
Edited & Revised by Ilona Gracia
Chapter Four
Section 1
Mr. Abdi Anwar Bashir began to worry about the way the case was progressing. He was certain that a match of his deposited seed, on the inside of Miss Eleanor Jonson Jabib's 'fertile garden', would be found. They did not use any protection while they made passionate love, because he was not fond of using it, especially not with a woman he had been with for so long - six months. Yes! It had been exactly six months since they first met at that party. He had always said a blessing for having been invited. Prior to that, he had never cheated on his wife of seventeen years. He loved her and their three children, two daughters and one son. Nevertheless, their sex life had dramatically deteriorated during their married life, and he no longer had the sexual desire he had once felt for her. That part of the relationship had come to an end. He could lay next to her, butt naked, and absolutely nothing would happen. If he had been somebody who opened up easily, he could have definitely make, or perhaps even break his marriage without a second thought. However, he was relieved of the latter since Eleanor had come just in time to rescue him. She was one of the many guests, invited to the wedding reception of the governor's daughter. She was a friend of the host's daughter and hence helped with the hosting. Abdi sat at a table with some of his friends; they had been busy chatting. They barely noticed the table right next to them, which was occupied by several young ladies. At his table were some well-respected businessmen, and if any of them had a dark side, he definitely hoped that it would never get out into the open. This could present big trouble for him and his well-established and well-recognized firm; it could certainly be used to tarnish his name, or even be turned into blackmail.
'Welcome to the business world' he thought to himself. It is never just the shares in the stock market; it is a lot more than meets the eye. The value of the shares, on the other hand, was determined by the social life and status of the company owners, directors, and even managers. Once a reputation is ruined, one might as well just close their business doors as there will be nothing left for them. Suddenly, he noticed a very beautiful woman, who strangely enough sat exactly opposite of him. Her table was almost all the way to the back of the room. She directly faced him at the very moment when the best man tapped his champagne glass with a spoon calling for attention. Next to the best man's table was the table where Abdi had laid eyes on her. She shared the table with several other women, then past that, were some others, before reaching the table where the bridal's group was seated. As they all turned to look at what was happening, Abdi got a brief glimpse of her face before she turned to face the bridal group. The oval shape of her face - her dark, wavy, shoulder length hair and the stunning mocha complexion of her skin - left a lot to be desired for. Her facial features - almond shaped brown eyes, a perfectly aligned nose, and lips to die for - complimented her flawless complexion. Its magnificence left Mr. Abdi in a stage of wonderment. Even though, he could not see anything beyond the table, he did notice her beautifully rounded and firm breasts protruding from the top of her sexy and certainly inviting dress. Mr. Abdi instantly went into a trance. He began to lust after this woman who he had seen for the very first time. One could only pity him for what the lady's beauty did to him. She wore a long rose-color dress that had been creatively decorated along the top with a fancy rose design lace, which left her beautiful shoulders uncovered. She flexed her head back and forth, probably to relieve the strain on her neck; that is when she caught him stare at her. He was just about to dodge her to avoid getting caught, but too late. During the process of lowering his body, he caught a last second smile on her beautiful face. He smiled back at her, and then quickly looked around to see if anyone had noticed. When he saw that all other eyes were on the best man, he raised his right hand to his lips, kissed it and blew her a kiss; she replied with a smile. He gazed over her at the best man, indicating for her to do the same in order to avoid suspicion. This was very unlikely of a man of his caliber. In fact, being as well a married senior citizen, one would not expect this of him; unfortunately, he could not help but be intrigued with her beauty. It was as if he was drawn to her by magnetic forces. The best man's speech, which regrettably he did not grasp, was followed with a brief chanting and clapping. After that, she rose up from her chair and headed towards the door. Before she exited, she intentionally glanced over to him, as if she had given him a signal to follow her, then she left the room. His colleagues, drunk from the circulating wine, were still clapping and shouting. He excused himself and left the room. He found her on the balcony of the luxurious 'Royal Palms Grand Hotel' where the wedding reception was held. The entire first floor had been reserved for the reception only.
When she heard the door open, she turned around to face him; he smiled and introduced himself. He extended his hand to greet her.
"Hi, I am Mr. Abdi Anwar Bashir, you can call me Abdi."
"I am Eleanor Jonson Jabib," she replied and immediately asked, "Why did you blow me a kiss?"
"I could not help it; I am completely mesmerized by your beauty," he answered honestly and without any hesitation.
"You are married!" She stated as a matter of fact when she looked at his ringed index finger.
He lowered his head to avoid her gaze, "Yes!"
He wondered whether to tell her that there is no fun in being married, or at least his marriage. On second thought, he decided that it would have been silly.
"Are you the chairman of the Peoples' Democratic Movement?" She asked curiously.
He thought about his answer for a brief moment, before he responded. "Yes and how do you know this if I may ask?"
"I read it in the papers, and I want to tell you that I am all for change. This country needs more people like you who overwhelmingly, and repeatedly, demonstrated that you have a heart for all people and more so, the needy."
He had a feeling that this was not going too well, and he was right judging by what followed next.
"I did not think it was wise for a man of your age, with hopes of becoming the president of this great republic, to go about blowing me a kiss while you show utter recklessness in public," she expressed while she looked him squarely into the eyes.
Mr. Abdi knew, right there and then, that he had to make things right otherwise he could lose a potential voter. He had no choice but to apologize.
"I am sorry about my earlier behavior. Thank you for your compliment. Young people like you are the reason why I am in politics. I want to give you an opportunity to look forward to a better nation. Also, I know that there are some old folks, who are much wiser than me. May I please excuse myself; I have some friends waiting for me!" He concluded. All he wanted to do at that point was to get the hell out of there.
That day, he did not stay long at the party. He went to the governor and excused himself; he claimed that he had to attend an important business call. The governor was one of his supporters; the main reason he invited him was to boost his public image. The governor believed in him, and he knew that the country would be much better off with Abdi in office. He could get things done, and the country needed a man like him to turn things around. Abdi went straight to his study and buried himself in work.
The following day, he went to the office quite early, even though, he barely slept the night before. He had been lying awake for several hours, but it seemed like an eternity at the time. He kept thinking about this unbelievable, magnificent woman that he had met at the party. Even if he would have tried, which of course he had no intention to do so, he just could not get her out of his mind. Her manners were simply impeccable, and those breasts....oh, how he had lusted after the mere thought of them, he just wanted to touch and caress them, just hold them in his manly hands. All this made him want her even more. Abdi pondered about how he could go about it. He needed a solid plan. He could not just go to the governor and ask about her; this would definitely arise suspicion in the governor's mind. That would not have been such a good idea at all. So, he really had no choice but to drop this entire idea since it was not attainable. Besides, it was not as if he had nothing better to do, in fact, his work was overwhelming and extremely demanding. He had to attend campaign meetings that were mostly behind closed doors. Furthermore, he had to run his business enterprise. Mr. Bashir was well known on a local level, and now politics brought him even closer to the public arena. He had been doing a lot of charity work for as long as he could remember. As far as he was concerned, he believed that it was his God given duty to aid people. This is because it was God who made him prosperous in the first place. He had scholarship offers to over twenty schools through his foundation. To educate the best people, who would then mostly end up working for him that was his objective. He had also established a number of children's homes. His wife, on the other hand, had a woman's support group, that he supported fully. He might not have been aware about all the details this support group entailed, but he knew that the huge amounts of money that he channeled through each and every month were to ensure their continuation. All those things kept him busy. In politics he was not an old chap either, actually it was his second time that he had been approached. The second time was less than a year ago, and the first time was during the election of George Storeman's second term in office. Abdi was urged to take on the head of the opposing PDM, but he refused. Storeman was the son of a chief under the colonial government. Due to the white man's rule, the Storemans' inherited large amounts of wealth in form of huge tracks of land that were covered with coffee fields, previously owned by the white settlers during the transitional period. He vied to be a member of parliament after the Independence, and he easily won due to his father's fame and wealth. He served as an MP for three terms, a total of twenty-one years. After the death of the founding president, Storeman vied for presidency under the opposition umbrella - now the ruling party called Chama Cha Wazalendo, 'The Patriots' Party'. At this time, many people were disgruntled by the post-colonial government, as they saw it had brought about neo-colonialism. This made him easily clinch the presidency.
Almost six years into the second term, President George Storeman declared interest for running a third term. When Abdi was approached during that time, he did not refuse. The news became public soon after, and he received an overwhelming public support countrywide. He was considered the only contender who was able to make the small parties join up and support one candidate, him, for the top job.
Surprisingly, Eleanor came to his office two weeks later. Despite the fact, that he had decided to let go and not get involved with her any further. The moment she entered his office, that thought left his mind as quick as a lightning bolt dropping from the sky, and that was only the beginning. The bond between them grew stronger each and every day. As time went by, they secretly remained at different hotels, engaging in hot, passionate acts of lovemaking. She had a way with him that brought back his youthfulness; it unleashed his hidden fantasies, the ones locked away during his married life. As a result of that, he became a more fulfilled, more cheerful person, and he certainly got his energy back, both at home and at the campaign rallies. Abdi and Eleanor entered into an agreement, to keep their love affair as secret as it was humanly possible. They also agreed that she was permitted to have any other person in her life if she so desired. Of course, this was not to happen as she was madly in love with him. This created a dilemma for the two lovebirds. They realized that for them to be together in a long-term relationship may never happen. Eleanor always seemed to be very understanding of the way their relationship was supposed to work. She never complained until...that dreadful Thursday night on the twelfth of December.
He had already noticed, here and there, that people started to speculate, therefore, he had to ensure that his wife was not about to find out. They both knew that this was their last time to be together, until after the election. Nonetheless, Eleanor said she was not about to let him go. She could not bear his absence, or for him to leave her behind.
Section 2
The Judge had entered the courtroom. Everyone was seated, and they anxiously awaited the day's proceedings. From the looks of it this was going to be a long day.
"Counselors, I believe you are ready to pour out your hearts desires," Judge Kioko said soon after he was seated at the bench, "You may proceed with yesterday's witness; Mr. Stewart, the floor is yours.
After Dr. Mathew Anger had entered the witness stand Stewart inquired about the lab results of the sperm sample. He wanted a confirmation to see if the sperm deposits were Mr. Abdi's; he just wanted to get what he felt was necessary, Stewart concluded. He vehemently affirmed through the doctor that the sperms were indeed Mr. Abdi's. The judge then invited Mr. Ojijo to question the witness. Mr. Ojijo, in his navy blue three-piece suit, stood up majestically; he took his time and slowly walked toward the witness. It acted as if he had all the time in the world. When he came close enough, and to his satisfaction, he raised his head and looked the doctor straight into the eyes.
Then he asked, "Dr. did you extract any blood from Miss Eleanor's vagina?"
"No!" The doctor reported.
"Did you find any tissue interference that would suggest a forced entry?" Ojijo asked.
"Yes," he replied.
At this point, Mr. Ojijo was a bit moved. However, the information that he received yesterday from his P.I. made him press on.
"Are you able to say whether the injuries on the private part were self inflicted or sustained through forced entry?"
"I don't think any woman could do that to herself," the Dr. asserted.
"All I want to know is, if it is possible. So, Dr. Anger please tell the court if Miss Eleanor could have inflicted the injuries herself?" He asked insistently, while he continued to look directly at the doctor.
"Yes it is possible, but she has to...." Dr. Anger tried to explain.
"Thank you," Ojijo cut him off, "Now, to the injuries on the rest of her body, is it likely that she inflicted these injuries herself?" Ojijo proceeded. While he questioned the witness, he took out the photos of the victim who was lying unconscious on the floor of the hotel room that said morning and he showed them to the doctor.
"Some of them yes, but not all. As you can see...," he explained with much confidence before he was cut short once again.
"Thank you doctor," Ojijo said. Then he turned to face the judge and announced, "Your Honor, I have no further questions for this witness."
"The witness may step down," the judge ordered and Ojijo went to take his seat.
"Mr. Stewart," he called out, "you may call your next witness."
"I now call upon Mr. James Sirma," Hunks announced as he stood up. Soon after, Mr. Sirma was sworn-in and Stewart continued.
"For the record, can you please tell the court your name and occupation?"
"My name is James Sirma. I am an investigating police officer with the Kun Kuru police department," the man in the witness box answered.
"Can you tell us where you were on the night of the twelfth of December?" Mr. Hunks asked.
"I was at the station going about my duties. I was the officer in charge for that night," he replied.
"Then what happened?" Hunks further questioned him.
"At around five minutes to three, we received a distress call from the Woodley Inn & Restaurant. It was about a woman who had been assaulted," he stated.
"Then what did you do?" Stewart wanted to know.
"We went and checked it out," the officer responded.
"What did you find out?" Stewart asked.
"We found an unconscious woman lying on the floor while the hotel doctor tried to revive her," he reported.
"What happened next?" He continued to question the witness.
"She regained consciousness but was very weak, so we arranged for the woman to be taken to hospital," he went on to say.
"Did she say who had done this to her?" Stewart pushed even further, he seemed to know what was coming.
"All she kept saying was, Abdi, Abdi, and Abdi!" He declared.
"Did she say anything else?" Steward resumed his line of questioning.
"No," the witness explained.
"Did you leave immediately?" He interrogated him further. "No, we stuck around and looked for any clues inside the hotel room that might have helped us in building a case. We also took statements from the witnesses," the police officer reported.
"What were your findings?" He inquired.
"We found out that the Abdi in question was Mr. Abdi Anwar Bashir, the chairman of Peoples' Democratic Movement. He had been in the victim's hotel room, and he had just left moments prior to the screams that were heard by witnesses," Mr. Sirma replied to a bemused courtroom and a silent defense lawyer.
"What did you do?" Stewart was curious.
"We sent a team of officers to the residence of Mr. Abdi to keep vigilant," he reported.
"Why is that? Couldn't you just arrest him?" Stewart wondered aloud.
"We had no arrest warrant. It was signed at around nine a.m. the following day," he said reasonably.
"When you say the following day, you mean Friday, as in, that very morning of the incident?" Stewart asserted.
"Yes," he said in agreement.
"What happened after that?" Steward examined further.
"We immediately sent the warrant to the officers at Mr. Abdi's place of work," he went on to say.
"You mentioned that the officers were at his residence at the time, then why was the warrant served at his place of work?" Stewart implied.
"Mr. Abdi had left for work at around eight a.m.," Sirma stated.
"Officer is there anything else that you wish to share with the court?" He asked.
"Yes," Mr. Sirma exclaimed, "We asked the gateman about the time that Mr. Abdi arrived home. He told us that it was around three thirty in the morning."
"Thank you. Your Honor, I have no further questions for the witness," Mr. Hunks announced - he smiled broadly - then he took his seat.
"Mr. Ojijo, do you wish to cross-examine the witness?" Judge Kioko asked.
"Yes your Honor," Ojijo replied as he stood up.
"Mr. Sirma, how long did it take you to reach the Woodley Inn & Restaurant after the distress call?" He questioned the witness.
"I think twenty minutes," he answered, but was unable to recall the actual time it took him to get there.
"How long do you think the victim might have been laying there unconscious? Ojijo quizzed.
"I would say about forty minutes before we arrived," he figured.
"That means, according to your calculation, the victim's cry for help was heard about two thirty five a.m." Ojijo asserted.
"Yes," the police officer acknowledged after a short mental calculation.
"Did she report that it was Mr. Abdi Anwar Bashir who had assaulted and raped her?" Mr. Ojijo asked while he looked Mr. Sirma straight in the face.
"Yes," James replied confidently.
"Explain yourself," Ojijo dug even deeper.
"She called out Mr. Abdi Anwar Bashir's name when we asked what happened," Sirma disclosed, though, he looked a bit dejected.
"Did she say that he was the one who had beaten her?" Just before Sirma could answer him, Ojijo advised him, "Think carefully before you answer."
"No, she..."
"Thank you," Ojijo interfered before Sirma was able to say another word, "In fact, according to your previous statement, she had called out his name as she was regaining consciousness. Isn't it therefore possible that she was calling out to him for help?" He declared whiles his eyes carefully, yet firm and probing, encircled the entire courtroom in which the silent and bemused audience sat.
"I don't think so," he commented on his own statement.
"Tell the court if in fact it is possible?" Ojijo insisted.
"Yes," the officer said to the confused jurors, who initially thought that they had it all figured out. It appeared to be a simple case where the occurrences and results were obvious.
"After Mr. Abdi came home, did he leave the house again?" He investigated further.
"Not until eight a.m.," the witness explained.
"Was that the normal time that he usually left for work?" Ojijo asked.
"Yes, according to the watchman," Sirma replied.
"Once you served Mr. Abdi with an arrest warrant, did he resist arrest?" Ojijo wanted to know.
"No," James said.
"What was his reaction when you read him the charges that he had been accused of?" Ojijo continued.
"Objection your Honor," Hunks began to raise his voice, "The witness is not qualified to answer the question."
"Sorry Mr. Stewart, but if the police officers are not trained to read facial expressions, or evaluate any physical movements, then I don't know who is left to detect the criminals amongst us. The witness may answer the question." The judge overruled.
"He seemed shocked, and he looked devastated." James stated.
"In your opinion, did Mr. Bashir appear to be genuinely disturbed to hear about the charges that he had been accused of?" Mr. Ojijo pressed.
"Objection your Honor," Stewart protested, he was obviously overwhelmed at the time.
"Sustained, Mr. Ojijo you should know that there is limit to leverage, proceed," Judge Kioko declared.
"What did he do then?" Mr. Ojijo continued.
"He requested permission to call his lawyer. We allowed him to do so due to his public status and the nature of the crime," James stated defensively.
"Prior to this, and during your duties as a police officer, have you ever known of Mr. Abdi to be a violent man at any given time or place?" He went on.
"No, but on the other hand, not all issues are ever reported," he replied evenly.
"Would that not just be considered your personal opinion?" Ojijo said tersely.
"Yes, with statistical..."
"Thank you Mr. Sirma. I have no further questions for you," Ojijo concluded and went to take his seat.
"Mr. Stewart, do you wish to re-examine the witness," Judge Kioko inquired.
"No!" An obviously disturbed Stewart busted out in a raised voice.
Section 3
The prosecution calls Miss Eleanor Jonson Jabib," Stewart Hunk announced.
Miss Eleanor rose elegantly from her seat. With all eyes focused on her, she walked majestically towards the witness stand. On that day, she wore a sexy, tight fitting, short-sleeved, navy blue silk dress that reached down to slightly above her knees. Anyone that looked at her, failed to evade any thoughts of imaging her completely naked. Her well rounded bosom was clearly conspicuous through the V-shaped neckline of her dress. Her hair hung loosely and peacefully on her shoulders. Mr. Ojijo had noticed that Mr. Abdi was unable to take his lusty eyes off her despite the fact that she had falsely accused him. He looked at her adoringly, perhaps to recall their last moments together. The court was about to hear her version of what had happened that dreadful morning. Miss Eleanor smiled at everyone, yet it was clearly noticeable that she ignored Mr. Abdi on purpose; she refused to allow herself to even glance over to where he sat. She stole everyone's attention, and it was clear that especially the male jurors were to cling on to each and every word she uttered. Mr. Ojijo knew he also had to get her testimony in order to detect any mischief on her part.
"For the record, Miss Jonson, could you please state your name and what you do for a living?" An obviously apprehended Stewart echoed. Ojijo puzzled over as to what exactly intimidated the famous attorney. Was it the witness' beauty or something else unknown to him.
"I am Miss Eleanor Johnson Jabib. I work as a travel agent with the Rolls Royce Travel Company," a very confident Eleanor stated.
"Do you know the person seated over there?" Mr. Hunks asked while he pointed towards the defense desk.
"Yes I do," Miss Eleanor responded without even looking in that direction, "That's Mr. Abdi Anwar Bashir, the chairman of the 'Peoples Democratic Movement'," she continued.
"Do you know him because of his public status, or do you know him on a personal basis?" He investigated further.
"I know him on a personal basis," she said.
"How long had you known him at that capacity?" He questioned her.
"Six months," she replied as a matter of fact.
"What was the nature of your relationship?" He inquired.
"I was Mr. Bashir's mistress," Eleanor answered, and she noticed the astonished looks on everyone's face; they were flattered by her bluntness.
"Can you explain to the court as to what exactly a mistress is and what, if anything, would be expected of a mistress, in this case - You?" Stewart Hunks expected almost an obvious answer.
"Yes, I can! I basically took care of all his needs, which his wife did not. I comforted him when he felt down, fulfilled his fantasies in the bedroom, and I ensured that no one would come to find out about our relationship," she explained.
"Had you always been comfortable with this arrangement?" He continued his interrogation.
"Yes and no! At first, I was, but as we got to know each other more, I discovered that he turned creepy. Also, of late, he had been taking too much of the relationship," she claimed.
"Please, explain to the court what you mean by creepy," he probed.
"Mr. Abdi began to expose some strange and unusual sexual behaviors. He began to hit me whenever we engaged in sexual acts. He seemed to enjoy the fact that I cried out for mercy. It was a real turn on for him; he actually derived great pleasure from causing pain to the woman he fucked with," she spat out in a bitter tone of voice.
"Miss Jabib, I must caution you to watch your language in my courtroom," Judge Kioko warned the witness.
Slightly embarrassed - yet more furious than anything else - she apologized and went on to say, "He also preferred to watch porn movies, then he would have us portray many of the sexual positions we watched, some of which were very crude." Her head dropped down as if in embarrassment - she turned wordless as if she had fallen into some sort of deep thought.
"Can you please tell us what happened on the night of the twelfth of December?" an overly anxious Stewart proceeded with his interrogation.
"That day, we were supposed to meet. Therefore, I checked in at the Woodley Inn & Restaurant, as usual, at approximately five o'clock in the evening. Later on, at around six o'clock, Mr. Abdi arrived. We ordered room service for dinner and after that we watched a couple of porn movies," she explained; she turned silent once more, it appeared as if she had finished answering the question.
"Was that all?" Stewart was eager, as he certainly awaited much more from that answer.
"At around ten p.m., we had long sexual intercourse doing most of what we had seen. This went on until about one a.m. when we were both exhausted..."
"What happened from there?" Stewart went on after a short silence.
"Mr. Abdi started to fall asleep, but I wanted him to go home. When I asked him to leave, he refused. Then I told him that our relationship needed a break."
"And why is that?" He wanted to know.
"People started to talk. I could not raise my head in front of some of my friends; they knew that I slept with a married man. Besides, it was campaign period and many people seemed to blame me for his constant lack of interest in his work. It was more than I could handle, and I knew that once we take a break, we would eventually let go," she replied.
"How did Mr. Abdi take all of this?" He asked.
"He became very annoyed. Although, I tried to explain it to him, he refused to understand. He became furious, yelling out that he was the only one to make the call of anyone wanting out of the relationship. He became very violent; he started to rape and beat me at the same time. That is when I started to scream on the top of my lungs, in the hope that someone would hear me and call security," she recalled with tears in her eyes.
"Did he stop at that point?" Steward wondered.
"No! In fact, the more I screamed, the more violent he became. I eventually passed out," Miss Jabib expressed in a pleading voice, while she sobbed furiously.
"When you regained consciousness, was Mr. Abdi still there?"
"No. There were police men and some other people, but I could not identify them," she told Steward.
"By any chance, do you recall making any statements or comments to the police or those around you?" Stewart demanded.
"Yes, I remember that I was asked about the person that had done this to me," she declared.
"What did you say?" Hunks concluded.
"I said Abdi." She had delivered her verdict of guilty, which Ojijo knew he had to counter.
"Thank you," he finished off.
"Your Honor, I have no further questions for the witness," Mr. Hunks said as he went back to his seat.
"Counsel," the judge called out as he looked at Mr. Ojijo, "The witness is yours."
This time however, Ojijo took his sweet time. He did not rise with the usual confidence. He knew what he was about to ask was close to impossible to be taken in consideration.
"Your Honor, I request to be given time to work on some very crucial evidence that will be relevant in this case," he requested while he tried to look as courageous as somehow possible, "They partially involve the witness," he continued, "and I cannot cross-examine the witness without it."
There was an overwhelming sullenness in the courtroom, while the judge tried to outweigh the matter. Kioko knew this was not how things were suppose to be. He also knew that the accused was a national figure, and if there was to be any evidence at all that may prove otherwise to the now obvious conclusion, he could not deny them the opportunity to furnish any proof necessary to evince his guilt or innocence.
"Considering that this court had been in session for over four hours without a break, I will adjourn the proceedings until Monday morning, the twenty-third of December, eight- thirty a.m. sharp. By then, we will continue with, or without, Mr. Ojijo cross-examining the witness," the judge ordered.
"All rise," were the last words heard in the courtroom before the judge left his bench and exited through the back door behind his bench.