PHOTO: Embattled Senator-elect Samukai
By Garmah Never Lomo, garmahlomo@gmail.com
TEMPLE OF JUSTICE, Monrovia- Former Liberian Defense Minister, Brownie J. Samukai has just six more days left to the August 8, 2021 deadline given by the Supreme Court of Liberia for him and his two other deputies recently convicted of corruption to pay US$1,147,656.35 of AFL soldiers’ money.
Just last week, many Samukai supporters staged a protest in three major cities of Lofa—Voinjama, Zorzor and Foya—demanding his immediate certification as they besieged and put chains to the entrances of government buildings. His supporters, who were reported to have physically attacked and injured a local official, are threatening further street protest and unspecified political actions, if Samukai is not certificated urgently.
(L-R) Samukai’s supporters protesting last week in Lofa and their chain on administration building
With the deadline inching away, the lower court charged with enforcing the ruling, Criminal Court “C”, may well be on its way of issuing a post-trial conference notice of assignment relative to the fulfilment of completion of the payment of the 50% of the total amount in question.
Convict Samukai, who was elected Senator of Lofa County in the December 2020 Special Senatorial Election on the opposition CPP ticket, was ordered along with former Deputy Defense Minister Joseph Johnson and former Comptroller, Nyumah Dorkor to make the 50% payment by this week.
Although Mr. Samukai paid US$10,000.00 on March 23, 2021, followed by additional two thousands US dollars on April 8, 2021, no additional money has been paid by the Lofa County Senator-elect on record.
As for his two deputies, there is no record of them paying any amount of their portion of the money at the Criminal Court “C”.
Lawyer won’t say whether full payment has been made
When a www.newspublictrust.com Reporter engaged one his lawyers, Cllr. Augustine Fayiah early on Monday, August 2, 2021 about how far the payment has gone, he only replied that they have gone far with the payment of the money. Cllr. Fayiah could not exactly say how far was far.
But after a follow-up was made with Criminal Court “C”, it was learnt that there is no additional record of payment, besides the twelve thousand United States dollars earlier paid.
The Supreme Court had said in its earlier ruling when the stipulated time was set for payment that the three former Defense officials might be jailed after stipulated time set forth by the Supreme Court to pay 50% of the money owed the AFL.
The time stipulated time will be ending on August 8, 2021, which ends the six months after the Supreme Court upheld the lower court’s Judgement on February 8, 2021.
Meanwhile, the post-trial conference is slated for August 26, 2021, but who knows what might happen prior to that, especially if the deadline on hand is not met.
Background to Samukai’s case
So, the fate of Liberia’s former Defense Minister, who was declared Lofa County Senator-elect, continues to hang in the balance, since the Supreme Court n Monday, February 8, 2020 upheld the lower Criminal ‘C’ conviction against him for corruption during his tenure in the former Ellen Johnson Sirleaf’s regime.
He ran and won the Senate seat on the opposition CPP ticket in the December 8, 2020 Special Senatorial election, a victory upheld by the Board of Commissioners of the National Elections Commission, after a series of challenges by some of his opponents from Lofa County.
The nation’s highest court withheld and modified the criminal court C ruling involving the former Defense Minister and one of his deputies and the Comptroller, saying that “the law extant in this jurisdiction that a person is guilty of theft of property when he knowingly takes misappropriates, coverts or exercises unauthorized control over or makes an unauthorized transfer of an interest in the property of another with the purpose of depriving the owner there of.”
The Criminal Court ‘C’ on Tuesday March 24, 2020 found former Liberian Samukai and his deputies guilty of corruption, but Defense Lawyers took exception to the ruling and announced that they will file Appeal to the Supreme Court.
Mr. Samukai had been facing trial for misappropriating some US$1.3 million. His leadership of the Armed Forces of Liberia had received huge amounts for the AFL’s Compulsory Contributing Fund, which the Government of Liberia had sent to the Ecobank Liberia, Ltd. It included US$460,000.00 in addition to US$687,656.35, making a total sum of US$1,147,665.35.
But the Lower Court, presided over by Judge Yamie Gbeisay, said there has not been sufficient evidence to convict the former Defense officials of the crimes of Money laundering and Economic Sabotage.
In its February 8, 2021 ruling upholding the lower court’s guilty verdict and sentencing, the Supreme Court said it is also the law extant in this jurisdiction that all public officials and employees shall obey all lawful instructions issued to them by their supervisors and shall declines to obey orders they know or ought to know to be wrong or unlawful
Consequently, the Liberian high court said officials and employees of government who are adjudged to have one unlawful order shall be held personally responsible and liable for their acts of Commission or omission as in the instant case.
That the defendant is guilty of misuse of public fund when he disposes, use or transfer any interest or property which is entrusted to him as of;
That there is unrefuted evidence gathered from the record of this case that the soldiers of the AFL compulsory contributed to the fund in the AFL pension account established at Ecobank Liberia LTD therefore the said account is not a public account intended for the ministry of national defense.
That there are evidence from the record showed that defendant Samukai over fiduciaryof the soldiers of the AFL pension account.
Wherefore in view of the foregoing, the final judgement of the trial court judge is hereby affirmed with modification.
At the same time, the Supreme Court has ruled that that Samukai and the other defendants are all hereby sentenced to serve a term of two years each in a jail.
However, the high court’s ruling says the sentence shall be suspended provided the said defendants shall restitute the full amount of USD 1,147,456.35 or 50% thereof within the period of six months and thereafter enter appropriate arrangements to pay the remaining portion in one year shall the defendants fail.
If they refuse to pay the remaining portions in one year, the defendants shall be incarcerated in the common jail and there in until the full amount is paid or liquidated at the rate of 25 USD per month as provided by law, the Supreme Court’s ruling added.
Facing the lower court, former Minister Samukai and the two other former Defense officials were represented in the trial by Cllr. G. Wiefueh Alfred Saye, Cllr. J. Augustine Toe and Cllr. Ruth Jappah.
The defendants pleaded not guilty to the charges in the indictment. Mr. Samukai said:
“The Ministry of National defense authorized the expenditure of funds from this account on the soldiers’ welfare without the requisite consent of the AFL high command; and that all monies spent on military personnel welfare should not have been handled by and through the government normal budgetary appropriation and not from the AFL account.”