PHOTO: SG Cephas behind his desk
By Garmah Never Lomo, garmahlomo@gmail.com
Several Justice actors working with the Ministry of Justice have repeatedly frown at what they say is the “undermining behavior” of Liberia’s Solicitor General Cllr. Syrenius Cephas against his own Prosecutors, but the SG has reacted to such criticisms.
The Justice actors, who spoke on anonymity, said the Chief Prosecutor of Liberia has now become “Chief under-miner of Justice” saying that they usually exert their efforts in prosecuting cases, but at the dying minutes of said cases, they get stabbed in the back by SG Cephas, with the latest being the Oliver Dillion murder case recently.
However, in an exclusive interview with www.newspublictrust.com at his Justice Ministry office in Monrovia on Thursday, January 21, 2021, Cllr. Cephas dismissed such claims and said they are not true.
He denied compromising the Oliver Dillion murder case, describing such claim as “very shameful” and said as Liberia’s Chief Prosecutor, he has the right to go or not to go for final argument in cases.
Barrage of other criticisms
Since his elevation to the post of Solicitor General, Cllr. Cephas has lost almost all government’s cases, including at the level of the ECOWAS Court, with the exception of the former Defense Minister case Browne Samukai which the government won last year.
Our anonymous but reliable sources in the Justice circle said, Cllr. Cephas’ continuous undermining the work of State Prosecutors is slowly killing the administration of Justice in Liberia, something they think is contrary to their legal practice.
SG says he doesn’t need to consult
But the Chief Prosecutor of Liberia told News Public Trust that he doesn’t need to consult his under-man before quashing an indictment, if he disagrees with the manner and form the indictment was drawn.
But he didn’t state which indictment he was referring to, even though he didn’t say that he disagreed with Dillon indictment.
Cllr. Cephas explained that he didn’t go for Oliver Dillion murder case final argument because he was busy preparing an objection to file at the ECOWAS Court for Judge Edward Amoako Asante from Ghana not to preside over cases from Liberia but didn’t give the reason.
“Furthermore, my duty is not to go Circuit Court to hear cases but he sometimes go there if the case is big but his role as Solicitor General is to hear cases for government before the Supreme Court,” SG Cephas told this news outlet.
Concerning the new memo or mandate signed by him states that before any indictment is drew, he (Cllr. Cephas) should be in the know in order to aid the Prosecutors to exactly some of the issues in order to avoid unnecessary indictment. But many wonder whether it is his role or is he overlapping his function?
According to Cllr. Cephas, any indictment drew without his consent, said indictment will be considered void indicating that it not meant to reduce the County Attorneys power but meant to avoid unnecessary indictment that would save the state resources.
But will time permits the country’s SG to do so when crimes are committed?
Breakfast with Min. of State McGill
Also his his visitation to the Minister of state Nathaniel McGill’s office was not meant to discuss the Oliver Dillon murder case with him, because McGill is not a lawyer. But he explained that usually visits the Minister and they have breakfast together every day and more besides they were in fact childhood friends.
The Liberia’s Solicitor General was accused of abandoning the final argument of Oliver Dillion, because under the disguise of receiving bride and calling for the dismissal of the case in dying minutes.
Cllr. Cephas was again accused of obstructing Justice at the RIA magisterial court in Bigamy case.
He is again under the spotlight of allegedly instructing prison authority at the Gbarnga Central Prison to put a murder convict on parole, who was sentenced to 25 years when he has just served one year in jail.
In November last year, he was taken to task by the River Gee County Judge George W. Smith for unethical behavior in the Barrobo, Maryland murder case and also accused of taking bride from a permanent man in Barrobo Maryland County identified as Tiah Nagbe for the matter to be down played and several other cases.
Currently, the latest decision coming from the Liberia’s Solicitor General is that before an indictment is drawn, he must be consulted if not said indictment will be considered as void something many state Prosecutors says he want to make them powerless and cause public defenders to unnecessarily set defendants free the elapses because consulting him before drawing will take most especially in the entire country.
The move by Liberia’s Chief prosecutor before drawing an indictment is a very strange practice brought by him at the Ministry of Justice, his critics say. But many wonder what could be his intent for doing that?