The Suva High Court will deliver a ruling on Wednesday on objections raised over the admissibility of procurement reports in the trial involving former senior government officials.

Senior lawyer Wylie Clarke raised objections before the commencement of trial, challenging the inclusion of procurement reports linked to medical equipment tender cases.

The matter involves former Prime Minister Voreqe Bainimarama, former Attorney-General Aiyaz Sayed-Khaiyum, and former Health Minister Dr Neil Sharma.

Dr Sharma faces two counts of abuse of office and two counts of breach of trust by a public officer, Bainimarama is charged with one count of abuse of office, while Sayed-Khaiyum faces one count of abuse of office and one count of obstructing the course of justice.

The charges relate to allegations that statutory requirements under the 2010 Procurement Regulations were not followed in the awarding of medical equipment tenders in 2011.

Clarke told the court that that the procurement reports form the foundation of the prosecution’s case but are based on knowledge and belief rather than facts.

He argued that the reports amount to hearsay, as they summarize other source documents.

The State opposed the objection, describing it as a delaying tactic.

Assistant Director of Public Prosecutions Laisani Tabuakuro told the court that any voir dire issues should have been raised before the trial began.

She said the defence had been in possession of the documents for over a year and that any delay was the responsibility of the defence, not the prosecution.

Clarke responded that there had been significant non-disclosure by the prosecution and that the defence had been awaiting additional materials.

He argued that this amounted to a breach of the prosecution’s duty of disclosure.

Presiding judge Justice Usaia Ratuvili directed the defence to file formal applications by this afternoon, with the State given until tomorrow afternoon to respond.

The Court will rule on the admissibility issue on Wednesday.

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