BY BARNABAS MANEBONA
AXIOM’S application to have the joint venture company of the Japanese Government and Sumitomo (SMM Solomon Limited) punished for contempt of court is back in the High Court this week (Tuesday).
In a Press Statement yesterday, Axiom alleges that the Japanese joint venture was behind two letters to the editor published in national newspapers under false names.
The false claims were designed to mislead local landowners and the readers of the newspapers.
Sumitomo says the letters were written on a Sumitomo computer by one of its long standing employees who created and used email accounts in false names to send the letters (which were also written in false names) to the newspapers for publication.
However, Sumitomo denies any involvement saying the employee acted without the knowledge or involvement of Sumitomo management.
Axiom on the hand says Sumitomo must have been behind the letters. As a result, Axiom says Sumitomo breached Court orders in force at the time the letters were written.
The orders were to stop Sumitomo from interfering ‘by its employees’ in any way in Axiom’s lawful business activities in Solomon Islands.
Axiom is seeking access to electronic documents that Google Inc in the USA has produced to the High Court.
Those documents concern the Gmail accounts that were set up by the Sumitomo employee in false names and were used to send the misleading letters to the newspapers.
Axiom has also asked the Court for orders that Sumitomo disclose further documents and seeks documents from Solomon Telekom concerning the emails. The High Court will also decide whether Solomon Telekom must produce its records to the Court.
“Axiom KB is jointly owned by the Isabel people and Axiom,” Axiom CEO Mr Ryan Mount said.
“We will vigorously protect our interests against any unethical behaviour. We will now pursue the opening of electronic data of the Gmail accounts created by Sumitomo’s employee. It is important to have all the evidence so the Court can decide whether Sumitomo was in contempt of the High Court.”
In all of this, one must ask the question, if the Japanese Government and Sumitomo joint venture company have nothing to hide then why do they challenge in court Axiom’s request to have access to the false email accounts created by their employee?
