PHOTO: Sanctioned & suspended SG Cllr. Cephus
“Sayma Syrenius Cephus (Cephus) is the current Solicitor General and Chief Prosecutor of Liberia. Cephus has developed close relationships with suspects of criminal investigations and has received bribes from individuals in exchange for having their cases dropped. Cephus has worked behind the scenes to establish arrangements with subjects of money laundering investigations to cease investigations in order to personally benefit financially,” says the United States Treasury Department report nailing Cllr. Cephus for alleged political corruption and placing him under sanction.
As Garmah Never Lomo, garmahlomo@gmail.com reports, since that US sanction declaration was made on August 15, 2022, Cllr. Cephus has been blaming his boss, Justice Minister, Cllr. Frank Musa Dean for allegedly being the brain behind his sanction.
But Minister Dean has said he doesn’t know about the purported letter and more besides his signature was forged, causing many to wonder whether the suspended Solicitor General is trying to use his boss as a scapegoat.
In a letter written to President Geroge Manneh Weah, the embattled Solicitor General claiming that Justice Minister Dean had some time ago complained him to US Ambassador Michael McCarthy, tut Americans say they have no knowledge about this.
Justice Min. Cllr. Dean
Cllr. Cephus made reference to what he alleged was a letter in his possession dated January 15,2022 to the US ambassador, which he claims states that he (the Solicitor General) operation was contradictory and that he was overlapping his functions.
However, when www.newspublictrust.com made inquiry to the Americans via a WhatsApp message, a US Embassy official said they have no record of ever receiving such a letter.
The suspended Solicitor General’s letter to the President further added that Ambassador McCarthy should please don’t take this (Minister Dean’s purported communication) lightly.
SG Cephus said it has the propensity of impeding the peace process of our country and the Justice system. It is dangerous to have such bad apple in the public service.
“His behavior has even claimed the attention of the president and others government officials within this government. I seriously need a call up for him that will improve the workings of the Ministry of Justice and other government officials and senior Ministers,” Cllr. Cephus said in his letter to President Weah.
But Justice Minister Dean has called on Journalists to make comparison between his signatures on his official communication granting permit to UL students to peacefully demonstrate and that of the purported letter being floated by the suspended Solicitor General that he allegedly wrote to the US Ambassador.
Below is Cllr. Cephus’ letter to President Weah.
Cllr. Sayma Syrenius Cephus
Gbengba Town
Paynesville,
Monrovia, Liberia
19 August, 2022
- E. George Manneh Weah
President of the Republic of Liberia
Executive Mansion,
Capitol Hill,
Monrovia, Liberia
Excellency:
I present my compliments and have the honor to draw Your Excellency’s urgent attention to a communication secretly written to the US Ambassador, Michael McCarthy on 15 January, 2022 by the Minister of Justice and Attorney-General, Cllr. Frank Musa Dean Jr., alleging that “he has information in his possession that contradicts the workings of his operations as Minister, and was therefore formally “complaining the Solicitor General(Cllr. Sayma Syrenius Cephus) who, according to him, is “overlapping functions.”
Further, Minister Dean in the letter, urged Ambassador McCarthy not to take the communication lightly on grounds that “it has the propensity to impede the peace process of our country and the justice system, strenuously arguing, “it is dangerous to have such bad apple in public service.”
However, following the letter, a series of press conferences were held by him and these were aired on radio stations throughout the country, and subsequently published in a number of local dailies, including Frontpageafrica newspaper, where Minister Dean reiterated his allegations, that “he was not in charge of the Ministry of Justice” and that there is a parallel Ministry of Justice being run by the Solicitor-General and Chief Prosecutor of the Republic.
Also in that same letter, Minister Dean claimed that my alleged behavior had claimed Your Excellency’s attention and other officials of the government and therefore pleaded with Ambassador McCarthy: “I seriously need a call up for him that will improve the workings of the Ministry of Justice and other government officials and senior ministers.” See a copy of the letter attached as Exhibit “C/1”.
Based on the 15 January, 2022 letter and the countless press conferences held in which Minister Dean accused me of running a “parallel Ministry of Justice,” although without any evidence, I suspect that such slanderous and vile campaign secretly undertaken against me, obviously triggered or significantly contributed to the inclusion of my name on the US Treasury Department sanctions list.
Excellency, as a young man who was born and raised in the slums of Liberia, and knowing what corruption has done to our dear country and its people, and given the fact that every time there’s an attempt to apply a Liberian solution to address this social cancer that is crippling our national development goals as a nation and a people, there’s always a campaign of terror and mayhem, beginning with the Rice Riot of 1979, the 1980 bloody coup d’état, and the 14 years of fratricidal war, I think the US government efforts to fight corruption in public places should be graciously applauded as it seems to be the surest way of holding accountable alleged corrupt public officials.
In this regards, let me first and foremost hail Minister Dean for alerting the US Embassy about my alleged “behavior” although not clearly defined, which he said has also claimed Your Excellency’s attention, and for which he believes the US Embassy should have original jurisdiction over such a “behavior.”
Also, I want to applaud and congratulate the United States Treasury Department for its unwavering drive to tackle any form of “behavior”, waste, abuse, and the mismanagement of public resources, on account of recommendations either from any public official within the Liberian government or from any group of Liberian citizens, especially so when the alleged ‘behavior’ complained of, as in my case, is believed to be inimical to the peace and security of Liberia. Had these steps been taken in the late 70s, early 80s and the early 90s, I am certain, the massive loss of human lives and properties, during the “Rice Riot of 1979, the bloody 1980 military coup d’état, during which 13 government officials were summarily tried and executed for “rampant corruption”, and the 14 years of civil war, would have been averted, and many of our compatriots would be alive today.
Excellency, I strongly believe that Minister Dean’s allegation is more of a gossip and a blatant lie crafted on the foundation of mischief or ignorance or both, for his own selfish interest, purposely to drive anyone who supports your government, and therefore the motive of his complaint to the US Ambassador needs to be investigated to establish what he refers to, as “dangerous”.
Be that as it may, and inasmuch as the imposition of sanctions may seem the right step in the right direction, to expose the alleged corrupt practices of public officials, I do not think that the mere reliance on an avalanche of disinformation and falsehoods supplied by a single Liberian public official or group of Liberians against their ‘perceived rival or rivals” holding adversative views or opinions to their parochial understanding of the law or political interest, in a country like Liberia, where everything is politics, should warrant an imposition of sanctions absent any investigation consistent with due process of law.
Excellency, the constitutional guarantee of the freedom of expression, is not absolutely free—it goes with responsibility, meaning one is held accountable for whatever he/she says and does. While I recognize Minister Dean’s constitutional right under Article 15(b) of the 1986 Constitution to hold an opinion on any issue and against anyone, I think when he expresses his opinion by maligning, vilifying and falsely labeling a Liberian citizen, as “dangerous”, as in my case, and then he must be called to order to prove his allegations.
It may therefore interest Your Excellency to know that in addition to secretly labeling me as “dangerous” Minister Dean has denied and deprived me of basic administrative amenities assigned to my office, as Solicitor-General, and has usurped the functions of my office to the extent that he reduces the Ministry of Justice to his “Private Law Firm.”
Further, I am deeply constrained to inform your Excellency that the Ministry of Justice under Minister Dean has become a “rival government” deeply opposed to Your Excellency’s administration, and because of this, Dean uses the denial of basic amenities and usurpation of the functions of my office to enforce nonresistance to his rule, so much that he reduces the Ministry of Justice to nothing but his “private law firm”–he comes to work at will, spends most of his time on 18th Street, Sinkor, Monrovia, sipping beer and cracking jokes.
Sadly, his brazen lack of interest in the job is demonstrated by his continued conspicuous silence or indecisiveness to lead a robust fight against crimes, and this is now aiding and abetting lawlessness in the country, because the simple truth is Minister Dean is only interested in the title of :” Minister of Justice and Attorney-General” which gives him close proximity to the epic-center of power to make money and ply his trade of falsely labeling those who have known him to be a man of limited courage and vision, as “dangerous.”
However, beyond that, he has shown and continues to show absolutely no interest whatsoever in the government or in the protection of the lives and properties of Liberians. Take for example the deaths of the LRA employees on Broad Street whose properties were found in the possessions of alleged zogos, Mr. Emmanuel Barthan Nyeswa of the Internal Audit Agency(IAA), the horrific tales of unsolved armed robberies; allegations that certain areas in Monrovia are deemed “ungovernable” during night hours with alleged thieves and drug addicts roaming free and running riots. Investigations regarding these cases are easily shelved or concluded—there have been no arrests, no prosecutions of people suspected of committing these crimes, at least to serve as a form of deterrence, and yet, there’s a Minister of Justice and Attorney-General prowling the corridors of power.
Excellency, based on my disagreement with him (Minister Dean) on these ugly developments that have tinted and continue to becloud the democratic credentials of this government in fighting crimes, and protecting life and property, I had reckoned, and which is now supported by the letter referenced inter alia, that my professional disagreement with him on the question of law and order, and the applications of relevant laws and trial strategies would have led him to complain me to Your Excellency as the sovereign and constitutional Appointing Authority, rather than falsely complaining and labeling me as a “bad apple in public service,” to the US Embassy without any evidence. I am afraid that the letter referenced seems to be the tip of the iceberg, and knowing what he is, and capable of, as demonstrated here, I believe some public officials are already on his “hit list” and have been falsely and criminally profiled in the eyes of the international community as “dangerous”.
However, analyzing his past activities, including other communications that he has written, I have every reason to believe that the letter in question is authentic, and it clearly defines and sets out Dean’s salacious campaign as the new “whistleblower,” but in truth, he is the ‘bull weevil’ in the system, who is secretly maligning the characters of people perceived by him as his enemies. The truth is, this Minister of Justice and Attorney-General has a trademark, and that is, he can hardly write any opinion or a letter, free of, or without any error, either in content, context or in the citations of relevant legal authorities, as evidenced by two of his most recent communications attached herein and marked as “Exhibit C/2 In Bulk.”
Excellency, it is important to inform you that in the two communications cited, the Honorable Minister of Justice and Attorney-General erroneously relied upon section 2.2 of the Executive Law to be the source of his authority rather than section 22.2 of the Executive Law. What I suspect that might have triggered the writing of the 15 January, 2022 letter, stemmed from a disagreement over his dismissal of the writ of arrest against ANC Political Leader Alexander B. Cummings on suspicion that it was initiated by me, but later informed Minister Nathaniel McGill who was at the Executive Mansion at the time in a mobile phone conversation(on speaker) that he had reinstated the writ, thus paving the way for the ANC leader to be arrested. The writ was prayed for and secured by the Chairman of All Liberian Party (ALP), Mr. Theodore Momo after he was duly examined under oath by the Magistrate Jomah Jallah as in keeping with law.
Excellency, as a prosecutor, and given the off and on posture adopted by Minister Dean, erroneously contending that no Magistrate can issue a writ of arrest without the involvement of the state, and then easily conceding that the writ was properly secured after he was shown the relevant law controlling, I suspected that Minister Dean had something under his sleeves and so I rejected his lack of firm position on the issuance of the writ on professional grounds but he insisted that the matter should continue, and that I should assign a junior lawyer to the case so that Mr. Cummings could win. Again, Your Excellency, I couldn’t stomach this, and Minister Dean became enraged, and then accused me of undermining his authority under section 2.2 of the Executive Law rather than section 22.2.
Excellency, section 2.2 of the Executive Law refers to an Assistant Minister of State for Presidential Affairs and not the Minister of Justice and Attorney-General. And it expressly states: “With the advice and consent of the Senate, the President shall appoint such assistants to the Minister of State for Presidential Affairs as the President shall deem necessary for the effective performance of the duties assigned to the Minister of State for Presidential Affairs.” Whereas, section 22.2 of the Executive Law refers to the duties of the Minister of Justice and they include:
(a) Procure the proper evidence for, and conduct, prosecute, or defend all suits and proceedings in the courts in which the Republic of Liberia or any officer thereof, as to such officer, is a party or may be interested;
(b) Institute all legal proceedings necessary for law enforcement;
(c) Furnish opinions as to legal Matters and render services requiring legal skill to the President and other agencies of the executive branch of the Government;
(d) Oversee the codification of Liberian statutory law and the editing and printing of the Supreme Court opinions, and of such of the opinions of the Minister of Justice as he may deem valuable for preservation in book form;
(e) Supervise the correctional system and the commitment and treatment of prisoners;
(f) To the extent stated in the Aliens and Nationality Law, administer the laws relating to the admission, deportation, and naturalization of aliens, and the regulation of aliens within Liberia;
(g) Supervise the activities of the National Bureau of Investigation, the National Central Bureau, and the National police Force;
(h) Oversee all Government activities relating to the prevention and control of fires; and
(i) Direct the administration of the Vehicle and Traffic Law. “
Excellency, in a situation like this, where the law is wrongly quoted and falsely relied upon, the Solicitor-General and Chief Prosecutor of this Republic, who, by the requirements of the statute, ought to be someone learned in the law, as I am, would certainly disagree, especially so when the Minister of Justice and Attorney-General out rightly refuses to be corrected. Such professional disagreement in my opinion, certainly cannot be considered or construed as “dangerous” for which the US Embassy should call up the Solicitor-General whose office, like any public official, appointed in the executive branch of the Liberian government, is regulated by Your Excellency’s “pleasure powers” under article 56 of the 1986 Constitution.
I have endured the pains to recite and to prove a point that the 15 January, 2022 letter titled: “Letter of Complain” rather than “Letter of Complaint” was actually written by Minister Dean and is part of the narrative of his ‘playbook’, given that several other communications, legal opinions, including the two referenced letters marked as Exhibit C/2 are fraught with wrong legal citations, yet they have been signed and distributed by our Honorable Minister of Justice and Attorney-General.
That said, I reject and deny all and singular the allegations of facts made against me, either openly or secretly by Minister Dean to the US Embassy near Monrovia, including those contained in the US Treasury Department Report which seem to form the basis for placing my name on the US sanctions list, and for this, I wholeheartedly welcome Your Excellency’s timely action to suspend me and others listed by the US Treasury Department in order for me to specifically face investigation for the following allegations which seemed to have been supplied by Minister Dean and other individuals:
- Cephus has developed close relationships with suspects of criminal investigations and has received bribes from individuals in exchange for having their cases dropped.
Answer:
( a). The phrase:”… has developed close relationships with suspects of criminal investigations…” is too vague and indistinct as it does name a specific case in point. Moreover, Cephus is not the head of any investigative agency, let alone developing close relationships with suspects. The Solicitor-General does not deal with cases of suspects; rather, he deals with cases of defendants in court who have already been duly charged or indicted for offenses committed. The averments in count 1 is blatantly whimsical and seems to be the author’s own figment of imagination, hence, I am unable to form a belief as to the certainty or falsity of such allegation and hereby deny and dismiss this allegation as absolutely false.
- Cephus has worked behind the scenes to establish arrangements with suspects of money laundering investigations to cease investigations in order to personally benefit financially.
Answer:
(a). Frist, where are the scenes? Who are the investigators or who are the money-launderers? What are their names? Are there specific areas dubbed as “scenes” where these alleged money-launderers are based or where these investigations are being held? Again, I do not deal with suspects but rather defendants already charged or indicted. The allegations of Cephus working behind “nonexistent scenes” only known to, or that only exist in the minds of Minister Dean and my accusers are utterly groundless.
- Cephus (He) shields money launderers and helps clear them through the court system and has intimidated other prosecutors in an attempt to quash investigations.
Answer:
(a). Counts 1 and 3 are in conflict with each other, and there’s a serious rivalry between intention and expression here. For the sake of the argument, if Cephus has developed close relationships with suspects of criminal investigations and has received bribes from individuals in exchange for having their cases dropped, then which other case(s) against money-launderers is Cephus helping through the court system? A case which has already been dropped at the investigative stage? Moreover, the assertion that Cephus has worked behind the scenes to free money-launderers is the making of Minister Dean and it refers to a particular case of a certain suspect, called Patrick Herman Diego, allegedly accused of money-laundering, and for whom my office had earlier prayed for, and secured a writ of arrest and a writ of Ne Exeat Republic on 7 January, 2022 while the suspect was still within the bailiwick of the Republic of Liberia. See a copy each of the two writs attached and marked as “Exhibit C/3” In Bulk. However, for strange reasons, the two writs which were already sealed and posted at every border point within the Republic of Liberia in order to arrest suspect Patrick Herman Diego upon sight, were ordered withdrawn upon the instructions of Minister Dean through a text message, and the investigator handling the case, Marc Kollie on grounds that suspect Patrick Herman Diego was simply a ‘punk’ as there were more hands involved that needed to be confronted and arrested. See a copy of the text messages exchanged between Minister Dean and I attached and marked as “Exhibit C/4.”
Besides, I later realized that the only reasons for the delay of the arrest of suspect Patrick Herman Diego by Minister Dean was to give him( the suspect) a window of opportunity to flee, and he did flee before the purported indictment ordered by him (Minister Dean) was drawn. Today, the suspect cannot be found because Minister Dean wanted him to flee the bailiwick of the Republic of Liberia. Further, Minister Dean sponsored a series negative media propaganda against me, with one local daily, Frontpageafrica Newspaper alleging in its January 13, 2022 edition, that I had telephone conversations with Patrick Herman Diego 23 times between December 2021 and January 13, 2022 but a finding from the probe of the Press Union of Liberia (PUL) into my complaint against the management of the paper, found no evidence that I ever communicated with Patrick Herman Diego. Instead, the paper presented a call log containing communications with Mr. Jonathan Koffa David, a well-known Liberian businessman, who Minister Dean later ordered indicted far beyond the January 13, 2022 publication, rather than Patrick Herman Diego. There’s no evidence that I ever talked to Patrick Herman Diego. The report of the PUL is attached as “Exhibit C/5.”
(b). The allegations that Cephus has intimidated other prosecutors in an attempt to quash investigations are without any foundation, for the fact that prosecutors in the Department of Prosecution within the Ministry of Justice are not investigators of money-laundering cases. Perhaps what is being insinuated here, regards the same case involving Patrick Herman Diego. As stated earlier, I had secured a sealed writ of arrest for the suspect and posted same at our border points, and while awaiting news of his arrest, I was invited at the Supreme Court of Liberia by the Justice presiding in chambers at the time, His Honor Yusif D. Kaba, about a petition for a writ of prohibition being filed against the Government of Liberia for the freezing of the accounts of a company at the Civil Law Court, Temple of Justice. This was my very first time hearing about such freezing order, and so I pleaded with Justice Kaba to allow me time to find out. None of the other prosecutors including the head of our Civil Division, Cllr. J. Adolphus D. Karnuah, who has direct supervision of all civil cases in the various circuit courts throughout the country, had no knowledge about the petition. I immediately went to the Civil Law Court after the conference with Justice Kaba, and I got copies of the petition that was filed by Cllr. Lafayette B Gould Sr., my Special Assistant, who, prior to filing same, had intimated to some of his own friends that Minister Dean had instructed him not let me know about the petition. For God’s sake, this is my office, and Cllr. Gould is my Special Assistant and . I am the head of the prosecution department at the Ministry of Justice; yet, my Special Assistant is being secretly advised and instructed to use the name of my office to file a petition at the Civil Law Court without my knowledge. My assignment as Solicitor General entails filing legal briefs, making representations, arguing cases for and on behalf of the government of Liberia at the Supreme Court of Liberia and all other courts within the Republic of Liberia. So, here I was, cited by the Justice presiding in chambers and quizzed about a freezing order in the Civil Law Court that I did not know anything about. I felt deeply incensed by this because such conduct presented a clear and present danger of the existence of a “parallel authority” within the office of the Solicitor-General in violation of section 22.4(b) of the New Executive Law of Liberia which gives the Solicitor-General direct supervision over all matters to which the Republic of Liberia is a party. There and then, I had two options to deal with what I considered at the time as a total disrespect to my office. My first option was to recommend the dismissal of Cllr. Gould, and to do this, I sought the advice of the Minister of State for Presidential Affairs, who then called Minister Dean on his mobile phone (on speaker) and told him exactly what I complained of, and Minister Dean shockingly responded: “ It is Cllr. Cephus who is keeping Cllr. Gould at the Ministry of Justice; that boy should have been dismissed and gone by now.” Based on this, I issued an interoffice Memo to dismiss Cllr. Gould, but after a while, I selected the second option of assigning him to Criminal Court Assizes “D” which is the armed robbery court at the Temple of Justice. Lest I forget, when Cllr. Gould appeared before Minister Dean, he (Dean) told Cllr. Gould: “don’t worry, nobody can dismiss you”, even though he had earlier indicated that Gould should have been dismissed long ago. However, because of Gould’s resourcefulness and my past relationship with his late uncle, Cllr. Theophilus Gould, under whom I worked as a young attorney for 12 years, I made him the focal person for all cases to which the Republic of Liberia is a party at the ECOWAS Community Court of Justice. Again, Minister McGill can bear me up that Minister Dean said that I had encouraged and maintained the employment of Cllr. Gould at the Ministry of Justice even though I am aware that Cllr. Gould is an anti element from the opposition. So who are the prosecutors that I have intimidated? Neither Cllr. Gould nor any of the prosecutors at the Ministry of Justice will tell you about being intimidated by me while prosecuting a matter. Cllr. Gould and I are on good terms and are working together like any prosecutor throughout the country. I have no regrets over the decision taken to assign him to Criminal Assizes “D”, and if this is what Minister Dean terms as “intimidating prosecutors” then he needs to find another definition.
(c). The allegations that I can help to clear money-launderers “ through the court system…” is an attack on the Liberian judiciary, as it falsely suggests a collusion or connivance, but I am not surprised that such allegations have been made by Minister Dean. There is evidence to prove that he has incorrectly labeled the Liberian judiciary as “corrupt”, and because of this, he has consistently spied and continues to spy on judges and justices by quietly procuring their call logs to see who they are talking to and what they are doing with cases of party litigants. On July 22, 2022 Minister Dean wrote the Monrovia City Court and requested the call log of His Honor, Joe Barkon who was at the time hearing a petition for declaratory judgment filed by a Liberian citizen. A copy of the letter is hereby attached and marked as Exhibit C/6”. Again, Minister Dean is the bull weevil in the system who is spreading misinformation about public officials both in the executive and the Liberian judiciary.
- Cephus has also utilized his position to hinder investigations and block the prosecution of corruption cases involving members of the government.
Answer:
(a). I categorically deny and reject this allegation that is suggesting the misuse of power or misuse of public office and hereby challenge Minister Dean and the rest of my accusers to produce any evidence to prove that I hindered and blocked the prosecution of corruption cases involving members of the government. I need to be confronted with the evidence, i.e. the name of the cases, names of the government officials, types of corruption cases, the names of the investigators, when, where and how, among others. Further, this part of the allegation is reminiscent of a verbal disagreement between Minister Dean and I regarding a report compiled by the LACC holding liable certain officials from the National Port Authority(NPA). The LACC investigative report named all those who were investigated and were subsequently recommended for prosecution to the Ministry of Justice, but Minister Dean, without any report or evidence gathered by the LACC, wanted me to indict the Managing Director of the NPA, Mr. Bill Twehway. I rejected his advice and therefore asked the LACC to take seize of the report and that was done. Those individuals that the LACC recommended for prosecution in that report have already been indicted awaiting trial. There is no evidence that I ever refused to prosecute alleged corrupt government officials who have been investigated by the LACC. Another case in point, is an indictment drawn against some individuals including two lawmakers, namely Representatives Marvin Cole and David Kafiah, long before I became Solicitor-General. The manner and form in which the indictment was drawn, especially regarding the alleged roles each of the lawmakers is said to have played, seemed more of a witch-hunt in my professional opinion rather than a fight against abuse, waste and the mismanagement of public resources, and so as the Chief Prosecutor of the Republic, I suggested further investigation. There is no evidence to prove that I refused to prosecute alleged corrupt public officials.
- Cephus has been accused of tampering with and purposefully withholding evidence in cases involving members of opposition political parties to ensure conviction.
Answer:
(a). This assertion is untrue, because a mere allegation does not constitute proof; and one who alleges a fact has the burden of proof. I have never withheld or have never been investigated and found liable by any institution for withholding any evidence in any case involving members of the opposition. I have never convicted an opposition politician in any court of law within the bailiwick of the Republic; I have no idea of a prosecutor going to court with his own evidence and that of the defense in a criminal trial. However, what is insinuated here is the baseless and unfounded claims made by a young and inexperienced lawyer, with no trial experience or credible records in criminal prosecution, falsely alleging that the evidence that should have exonerated the ANC Political Leader Alexander B. Cummings was extracted by the prosecution. Elementary criminal trial procedure dictates that whatever is considered to be inadequate or insufficient evidence adduced at trial by the prosecution would be countered, controverted, traversed and challenged when the defense begins the production of both oral and documentary evidence or when its witness (es) takes the stand. The alleged insufficiency, omission or inadequacy of prosecution’s evidence is never challenged during the production of both documentary and oral evidence by the state but rather during the production of evidence by the defense. Those who made these baseless claims need to read elementary criminal trial procedures.
- Cephus is being designated for being a foreign person who is a current government official who is responsible for or complicit in, or who has:
- Directly or indirectly engaged in, corruption, including the misappropriation of state assets,
- The expropriation of private assets for personal gain.
Answer:
(a). I do not know what is meant by the misappropriation of state assets, or what constitute those assets? Who has given me those state assets; where, when and why? What are the descriptions of those state assets and monetary values, if any?
- The expropriation of private assets for personal gain;
Answer:
(a). Again, I have no idea as to what is meant by or that constitutes private assets that I have expropriated for personal gains. When was the expropriation done, where and how? It is public knowledge and this is backed by the statute that only the Minister of Justice who happens to be Minister Dean or the Deputy Minister for Economic Affairs are the only public officials within the Ministry of Justice responsible for or are duly designated by law to review all government contracts, and only Minister Dean can sign all government contracts, natural resources contracts, among others. I challenge my accusers to produce the evidence of contracts that I as Solicitor-General, have signed for and on behalf of the Government of Liberia.
- Corruption related to government contracts or the extraction of natural resources, or bribery.
Answer:
(a). I have never, ever signed any government contract or natural resources contract, let alone receiving bribes from the signing of such contracts. I think the time is ripe for those interested in transparency and accountability to demand a comprehensive review and audit of all of the contracts and agreements that Minister Dean has signed for and on behalf of the government of Liberia; demand a forensic financial audit of the Ministry of Justice’s accounts for the purpose of accountability and transparency.
Excellency, I believe that the truth must be spoken; the Liberian people deserve nothing but the truth, and as one of the accused persons on the US Treasury Department sanctions list, I too, must be told the truth; must be confronted with the material evidence for the alleged egregious economic crimes that I have committed against my dear country. I humbly solicit Your Excellency’s kind indulgence to request a panel of professional investigators from the Economic Community of West African States(ECOWAS) to probe these grave allegations against me and other public officials.
That being case, what I also want my family, friends and professional colleagues around the world to hear is for your Excellency to kindly prevail on the US Government, our traditional friend, to grant me the opportunity to be accorded due process, which is the law that hears before it condemns, so that I can have “my day in court” to see face to face Minister Dean and the rest of my accusers and to be confronted with the evidence that they have procured against me. Excellency, the right of the accused to a fair and open trial, and to face his/her accusers, is not an option, rather, it is a constitutional requirement that the law of this country imposes upon anyone who alleges a fact. Therefore, I shall be grateful for this opportunity to be accorded me so that my life and service to my country since the inception of this government can be judged by history for my family, friends, and generations unborn to know that once upon a time there existed a Solicitor-General in this sweet land of liberty by God’s command, that was tried and convicted for corruption related to government contracts or the extraction of natural resources, or bribery or for working behind the scenes to free money-launders, by an investigative panel in order to serve as a form of deterrence to other would-be alleged corrupt officials.
Hoping that this communication will find Your Excellency in a clean bill of health, I remain.
Faithfully,
Cllr. Sayma Syrenius Cephus
SOLCITOR-GENERAL & CHIEF PROSECUTOR (suspended).