PHOTO: NEC Chair, Davidetta Browne-Lansanah
By Our Reporter
The Chairman of the National Elections Commission (NEC), Davidetta Browne Lansanah has fired back at the Liberia Anti-Corruption Commission, saying that she and the NEC the LACC lied that there was admitted to engaging in corruption.
“Following its investigation, the LACC told the public that it has completed its investigation and read out an outcome claiming we had made certain admissions of guilt during our appearance before the LACC,” Mrs. Lansanah said in her response to the LACC report. “This is false and misleading. We appeared before the LACC with our legal counsels, submitted the requested documents, along with written statements. At no time during the interviews did any of us ever make any admission of guilt as falsely stated during the December 15 LACC press conference.”
Mrs. Lansanah told a news conference in Monrovia on Sunday, December 19, 2021 that up to that time she and the Commission had not been given copy of the LACC report in question.
Last week, LACC Chairman, Cllr. Edwin Kla Martin said investigation conducted found NEC Chairperson Bowne-Lansana culpable for corruption, conflict of interest, and money-laundering by the Liberia Anti- Corruption Commission (LACC).
Announcing the outcome of the investigation in Monrovia on Wednesday, December 15, 2021, the LACC Chairman said the NEC boss was found to be in violation of Section 1.3.6, of the National Code of Conduct, which speaks against conflict of interest; Part II, Section 2.2 of the LACC Act and section 15.3 of the Money laundering Act of 2012.
But Madam Borwne-Lansanah said as they await LACC’s report to provide a detailed response, she reminded the anti-graft body that the Liberian Constitution instructs that, in an announcement to pursue an indictment, adding that “should not raise an inference of guilt as all accused persons are presumed innocent until proven guilty beyond all reasonable doubt in a court of law.”
“We are saying ‘genuine response’ because as of the time of the statement to you, the LACC has not served us its report. Therefore we cannot provide a response to allegations we have not seen,” Mrs. Lansanah said. “On November 19, 2021, the LACC served us letters of invitation to appear for investigation. Before the ink dry on its letter served us, the LACC had shared the same with the media and the LACC boss appeared on VOA, an international broadcast institution, and said the LACC has placed us under criminal investigation,” the NEC Chairperson said.
According to the LACC investigative report, Madame Lansana admitted and confirmed during the investigation that David Brown, Vice President for Operations of Tuma Enterprises was “her brother from the same father, while Arnold Badio, owner and incorporator of Tuma Enterprise is a brother to David Browne from the same Mother.”
However, during her press conference, Madam Browne-Lansanah neither confirm nor denied that the heads of the Tuma Enterprise were her brothers.
She seriously questioned the authenticity of the LACC’s report and questioned the integrity of the Liberian anti-graft institution.
Said Madam Browne-Lansanah:
“Never before have such calculative and coordinated leaks been seen in LACC’s investigative history. Please rest assured that we remain a critical role in our system of government to conduct free, fair, and credible elections,” the NEC Chair said.
“We believe that an agency with investigative and/or prosecutorial powers is obligated not to make, condone or cause to make public the agency it knows or should know, has the likelihood of prejudicing criminal matter or heightening public condemnation of a target of an investigation,” Madam Davidetta Browne-Lansanah added.