On Trial – Episode 4

On Trial – Episode 4
© Onyinyechukwu Mbeledogu
Kaira wasn’t being judgmental. She had handled several criminal cases and she had never been more convinced of a man’s guilt as she was of Koje’s, despite having never met the good looking man until recently. She had seen his photographs and in them he had looked unapologetic. If anything he had looked proud, like he had the wh0le world in his pocket. He looked nothing like a man who could be going away for a very long time if convicted. Her being certain of his guilt definitely had nothing to do with her being a female.
She had met him for the first time on Monday when she had driven from court to the Film House cinema in the Port Harcourt Mall on a spur of the moment to watch the movie ‘Gods of Egypt’. Koje had occupied the seat next to hers and in the darkness of the cinema hall, she hadn’t recognised him but she had been very much aware of him. He was seated with another woman on his right. Kaira hated to admit it, but Koje Quadri had an aura about him, such that you couldn’t be around him and not be aware of him as a man and it had nothing to do with his expensive cologne and aftershave. This was something only about 10% of men have. And before you say it’s a fallacy of hasty generalisation as she had not met with 10% of the world’s men, she was not the one who had come up with the statistics. She was working with statistics provided by experts, rightly or wrongly. What was important was that Koje was a man whose presence you can’t help but be aware of and this went beyond his amazing good looks.
She hadn’t said anything to him for the duration of the movie and once it was over, he had left with his female companion, his palm resting on the small of her back. She hadn’t realised who he was until he approached her outside a few minutes later. He must have seen her leaving the building. She had spent a few minutes shopping before stepping outside.
The moment she recognised him, she had reflexively taken up an unpleasant disposition. His girlfriend had been waiting in front of a black Prado jeep while Koje approached her.
‘Good afternoon, Ms Madukaife,’ he’d greeted. ‘I’m Koje Quadri.’
‘Good afternoon Mr Quadri,’ she had responded, unlocking the door of her 2011 Toyota Camry and sliding into the front seat. The interior of the car was hot and she wound down the glasses. He leaned into the open window and said, ‘I would like an appointment with you at your office later in the day or tomorrow, if you may.’
Appointment ke? In which planet?
‘That would depend on your purpose for requesting a meeting with me,’ she had responded.
‘I have a suit I would like you to handle for me. I want to come over and discuss the facts and your legal fees.’
Why don’t you just come out and say that you were wrongly charged for rape and you need a female lawyer to make your case more sympathetic to the judge? She had thought.
Aloud, she asked, ‘Is it about the rape charges you are currently facing in court?’
He paused and then said, ‘Bẹẹ ni.’
‘No can do, Mr Quadri. You should know that I only prosecute rape cases and never defend.’
‘Mine could be an exception.’
‘Nah. Not in this lifetime.’
She turned on the ignition. ‘I wish you the best in your hunt for a counsel.’
She put the gear on reverse and he stood straight, watching as she drove backward.
She stepped on the brake as the security guard stopped her to make room for car driving past. She looked ahead and saw Quadri talking to the other woman. Men, she thought. He was facing criminal charges for rape and yet he still had time to be doing boyfriend-girlfriend things. He should have been subdued but he didn’t look the least stressed. If anything he looked a lot better than he did in the papers.
He was about 5”11, dressed in a sky blue long sleeved shirt which couldn’t hide the bulging muscles of his arms, and a pair of black jean. His Rolex wristwatch glittered in the sun. His short dark hair had been cut low and he didn’t wear a beard. It wasn’t fair on his victim for him to look this good, as though what she had passed through wasn’t important. He didn’t look remorseful! He didn’t have any right to look so good!
What was it he did for a living again? She had read that he had a night club in GRA and also owned a transport company and some other businesses. Business had to be strained following his trial. In a decent country, his night club would be under investigation. Who knew the kind of things that went on in there?
She didn’t give him the appointment he sought and she took every pain to avoid running into him. But he didn’t make it easy for her. He somehow always knew how to find her. A civil case and he would most likely have said to hell with her but his was a sensitive criminal case in which he needed to prove the point that he was a good guy. What other way than to get the counsel who had made her name prosecuting accused persons charged with rape to be his counsel.
She had heard that the prosecution had a very strong case against him. They had a long line of witnesses to ‘nail’ him. She had also heard that his alibi had been investigated and turned out to be false. Why tell a lie when you know the truth will always come out in the end? Why not take the honourable way out, admit his guilt and plead an allocutus knowing the judge who happened to be male could be persuaded to reduce his sentence and let them run concurrently instead of consecutively?
The sentence for the offence of rape was life imprisonment but he could receive a lesser sentence especially if proved to be a first offender. If the prosecution despite the number of witnesses it was fielding, failed to prove his guilt beyond reasonable doubt, Koje Quadri would walk away a free man. But then…
She was entitled to her opinion!
The Rules of Professional Conduct also allowed her to reject a brief on the grounds of personal interest, conflicting interest or on religious grounds etc but this almost got Aunty Wunmi preaching to her and Aunty Wunmi was no preacher. The older woman had reminded Kaira of the Constitutional provision that an accused person was presumed innocent until proved guilty.
Kaira was a strong believer in that section of the Constitution, that it was the duty of the prosecution to prove the guilt of the accused person beyond reasonable doubt and not for the accused person to defend himself by proving his innocence. This was why, without a defence, the accused could make a no case submission, meaning that he had no case to answer and if indeed the prosecution was unable to prove its case, the accused person could be discharged and acquitted at that point.
But this case was different. This was a man whose source of wealth was questionable. He never granted interviews and if he was compelled to, he never mentioned how he had acquired his great wealth. He owned a nightclub and KTQ Transport Company. How had he made the money to start these businesses? He had been unknown until a few years ago when suddenly, his vehicles were on the road, just like that! He had a built a house off Peter Odili Road and from what she had read in the papers, it was massive.
Kaira wasn’t one to pay attention to rumours, but then rumours had it that Koje was a ritualist. Some said he was into importation of hærd drugs and others said he was a fraudster a.k.a 419 man. But Koje kept his l-ips sealed whenever it came to the subject of his businesses. There was no smoke without fire, it was said, but which of the smokes had fire attached to it?
Koje was a very handsome man and that couldn’t be taken from him. He was also built like a body builder, one could suspect that he wrestled during his spare time or lifted weights.
She wondered who had recommended her to Koje. Someone besides Aunty Wunmi had trusted in her abilities to deliver. However, this really had nothing to do with her abilities or otherwise. She had been advised to take his brief and do her best. If the prosecution succeeded in securing a conviction then let it be because they were able to prove their case and not because Kaira refused to give Koje her best.
‘I hate this situation I have found myself in,’ she complained to Erhus. ‘How can Aunty Wunmi do this to me?’
‘You know she loves you like her own daughter and wouldn’t put you in any situation she isn’t comfortable with,’ Erhus reminded her. ‘Besides, from what you told me, she didn’t exactly tell you to represent the man. She asked you to think about it.’
‘Knowing that if the man insists I wouldn’t be able to say no because I know she actually wants me to represent him,’ Kaira conceded. ‘She knows what she’s doing.’
‘I’m sure you two understand yourselves very well. Well, look on the bright side…’
‘Why do you always see a bright side in everything?’ she interrupted.
‘That’s because there always is.’
She could hear the smile in the voice.
‘And what’s the bright side I’m supposed to see in representing a man I want behind bars?’
‘If you represent this man and he turns out to be innocent you would have helped a good man out.’
‘And what if he turns out to be guilty?’ she returned.
‘Then you know that at least you did what was expected of you as a lawyer,’ Erhus replied simply. ‘My advice to you is that you work with both your head and your heart to come up with a decision.’
To be continued