By Garmah Never Lomo, garmahlomo@gmail.com
TEMPLE OF JUSTICE- State Lawyers say Judge Blamo Dixon, Brownie Samukai and his deputies have gone contrary to Supreme Court’s mandate in Payment of 50% of the over one million US dollars misappropriated from the welfare funds of soldiers of the Armed Forces of Liberia (AFL).
But Lawyers of the former Defense Minister and Lofa County Senator-elect, Samukai have also filed motion of enlargement of time before the Supreme Court.
Last Friday, August 20, 2021, the Full Bench of the Supreme Court of Liberia today, Friday ruled that Brownie Samukai cannot be certificated by the National Elections Commission (NEC) as Senator-elect of Lofa County, unless and until he clears his “disability” in fulfillment of the court’s order.
Four of the five Justices on the bench granted the petition for Writ of Prohibition by the Ministry of Justice against Samukai’s certification but denied the one form Simeon Freeman’s MPC party, because they say he didn’t have standing.
Justice Wolokolie contention was that they had limited time to fully review the case. But the rest of the Supreme Court Bench disagreed, saying that the case in question has been on their docket for some seven months.
This week, State prosecutors headed by Liberia’s Solicitor General Sayma Syrenius Cephas have filed a Bill of Information to the Supreme Court of Liberia, stating that Judge Blamo Dixon, convict Brownie Samukai and two deputies Joseph Johnson and Nyumah Dorkor have gone completely contrary to Supreme Court February 8,2021, ruling concerning the 50%payment of the AFL money in the six months.
However, a post-trial conference, which was slated for toady August 26,2021 due to the two separate motions filed before the Supreme Court, Criminal Court C couldn’t proceed with the hearing of the post-trial conference, until the two motions before Supreme Court are heard and determined.
According to the Bill of Information filed by Liberia’s Solicitor General Cephas, Judge Blamo Dixon of Criminal Court C went contrary to the Supreme Court mandate where he went ahead dividing the 50% among the three convicts which was misinterpretation of the Supreme Court mandate.
The Bill also said: You are hereby commanded to notify his Honor Blamo Dixon, J. Brownie Samukai, Joseph Johnson, and Nyumah Dorkor of the City of Monrovia, Montserrado County, Republic of Liberia that the respondents in the above entitled cause of action to appear and file their returns before the full Bench of the Supreme Court of Liberia on or before the 6th of September A.D. 2021 at 9am to show why informant’s information as prayed for should be granted.
And you are further commanded to instruct the respondents herein to file their official returns to this writ within the office of the Honorable Supreme Court clerk on or before the 6th of September A.D. 2021 to read to them the original and leave a copy of the writ with the respondents.
The other part will make known their position by filing your official returns hereto on the back of the original writ in the office of the clerk of the Supreme Court on or before 6th of September A.D. 2021.
At the same time, the convicts through their lawyers filed a motion of enlargement of time in a six-count motion.
In the motion filed at the Supreme Court on August 25,2021, Samukai said:
They are party Defendants in the main cause of action and were found guilty by the court and ordered to restitute the amount of US$1,147,656.35 of the 50% of the said amount within a period of six months and thereafter enter appropriate arrangements to pay the remaining portion in one year; the Honorable Supreme Court confirmed and affirmed the ruling of the Criminal Court.
Count two of his motion says the mandate of the Supreme Court was read on the 24th day of February A.D. 2021, therefore the movant or convict had six months from the said date of the reading of the mandate to make the fifty 50% per cent payment of the amount to be restituted; the said six months will expire on August 25th A.D. 2021.
Movant further says that a payment of US$10,000.00 was made against the fifty percent your is requested to take Judicial notice of the file.
The movant(convict) also said that due to the COVID-19 pandemic which has affected all economies globally and other financial difficulties beyond their control as a result of the said COVID-19 pandemic, they are unable to make the full payment of the 50% which is US$573,828.175 as per the ruling of the Criminal Court C.
Furthermore, movant says that due to the reasons stated in count four above, pray that your Honor and this Honorable Court will enlarge the six months period granted them by this Honorable Court to make a fifty percent payment to be restituted by one calendar year from the 25th day of August A.D. 2021 up to the 25th day of August A.D. 2022.
His Motion added that for enlargement if time is being made in keeping with section 1.7.2(a) of ILCLR
WHEREFORE and in view of the foregoing, movants prayed that your Honor will rule as follow:
Grant movants motion and enlarge/extent the time to make the fifty percent payment within one year that is from August 25th A.D. 2021 to August 25th A.D. 2022.
Grant unto movants any and all further reliefs as your deem just, legal and equitable in such cases and rule all cost against the respondent.
The separate motions were filed on August 25,2021 at the Supreme Court.
Meanwhile, Criminal Court C assigned Circuit Court Judge OUSMAN F. Feika today August 26,2021,said notwithstanding the above, this court says that it takes Judicial notice of the fact that a motion for engagement had been filed by the convicts in these proceedings and the said motion is still pending before bthe Supreme Court undetermined. Also the Court takes Judicial notice of the fact that a Bill of information has been filed by state prosecutor in these proceedings, requesting the Supreme Court of Liberia to correct the irregular enforcement of the mandate of the Supreme Court of Liberia. This Bill of information filed by the prosecutor is also before the Supreme Court undetermined.
In the light of the foregoing, this court says it would be unwise to proceed with the enforcement of the mandate of the Supreme Court when the motion for enlargement of time filed by the convicts and the Bill of information filed by state prosecutor have not been determined by the Supreme Court which is a superior court to this Court. Hence, these proceedings are therefore suspended pending the issuance of a notice of assignment.
Of the 50% payment of the money, Brownie Samukai has completed his portion of the 50% with the amount of US$191,276.05, while his two deputies recently paid one thousand United States dollars each.
Samukai, who ran on the opposition CPP ticket in the December 8, 2020 Special Senatorial election, was pronounced as the winner of the polls by NEC, but his certification has been challenged due to his conviction and sentencing by the Criminal Court “C” for corruption.
In their ruling, the full bench of the highest court in Liberia said said Samukai and others “who were convicted of felony, have not served their sentence and satisfied the penalty imposed on them by the dictate of the law, therefore it would be utterly wrong and illegal for the first appelant, the NEC, to certificate the second appelant, Brownie J. Samukai, Jr. to take the seat as Senator for Lofa County.”
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 US460,000.00 in addition to US$687,656.35, making a total sum of US$1,147,665.35.