PHOTO: Former VP Boakai (wearing black hat) walking out of Monrovia City Court
By Garmah Never Lomo, garmahlomo@gmail.com
The lead lawyer representing the Alternative National Congress (ANC) political leader Alexander B. Cummings, Cllr. Abrahim Sillah has been very visibly upset from the day former Vice President Joseph Nyumah Boakai started testifying last week during his cross examination process.
This comes as former VP and Unity Party Stander-Bearer Boakai in continuation of his subpoena witness testimony against defendant Cummings in open court ton May 17, 2022, that at no time did he ever sign a framework document that had any exit clause placed in it.
Mr. Cummings is currently facing alleged criminal trial after being accused by ALP political leader Mr. Benoni Urey for allegedly tampering with the CPP framework document and illegally attaching his signature to a photocopy version. But Mr. Cummings has always denied any wrongdoing.
Cllr. Sillah, Cummings’ lawyer has since seemed disorganized and emotional as he posed his questions but sadly, his questions have not been in line with what the subpoena witness, Boakai went to testify on.
Defense lawyer Sillah has been in the constant habit to deliberately delay the testimony of former Vice President Boakai by asking repeated questions which annoyed his colleagues including Judge Jomah Jallah.
At a certain point in time, Magistrate Jomah Jallah had to be disallowing some of his repeated questions and informing him that it is against their practice and ethics as lawyers to be asking repeated questions.
Nearly all of his questions asked to Ambassador Boakai was objected by the state prosecutors and it were greatly sustained by magistrate Jallah based on genuine grounds given by state lawyers.
Whenever, Ambassador Boakai asked questions from the defense lawyer, embattled Liberty Party chairman Musa Bility was seen opening his mouth and biting his fingers. And at another point in time, he wanted to join the defense lawyers in the bar even though he is not a lawyer.
Mr. Bility was also seen calling Atty. Gould to him questions because their lawyer Sillah was out of questions when he kept repeating one questions over and over.
The trial lasted for four hours with defense lawyer Sillah asking what was seen as monotonous questions.
In his testimony yesterday, Tuesday, former VP Baokai said that the framework document of the four opposition Collaborating Political Parties (CPP) that he signed May 19, 2020 was properly read by him carefully.
He further stated that the document he read before signing did not have any exit clause in it, adding that the document that he signed has the wordings ‘’ resigned’’ in the team of lawyers ten counts pacifically count five which use the world ‘’exit’’ which was not in their document.
On Monday May 16, 2022 former Vice President Boakai testified to the CPP framework document saying the signature page represents the original signature and that the document that he signed never had senator Danile Nathan as chairman of the CPP.
Mr. Boakai is a high-profile state witness in a criminal case brought against his one-time politically ally and leader of the opposition ANC, Mr. Cummings.
Boakia and Cummings were the uncompromising rivals seeking to head the CPP presidential ticket ahead of the 2023 presidential and general elections when an allegation of CPP framework document tempering led to the UP and ALP separately pulling out from the once formidable opposition bloc.
When asked by defense if he left the CPP because of the amendment recommendations made by the team of lawyers, Amb. Boakai saids that he cannot say yes to that because there were multiples reasons for their withdrawer from the CPP.
‘’The framework document after the amendment recommendations by the lawyers and our subsequence decision to send it to the validation committee, it was administrative decision by the chairpersons Like I said before, I don’t discuss and approve important document in chartroom.
Mr. Cummings as chairman of CPP and political leader of ANC took the lawyers recommendation to the committee’’ which was chaired by one of the defense lawyers Horacio Gould Ambassador Boakia responded to defense lawyer.
The subpoena witness confirmed and admitted that the signing of the document was done via Zoom and Unity Party Secretary General Moi Ali went around and took the document to them and collected each political leader and their chairpersons signature, adding that in fact, at one point, his last name was misspelled but was later corrected before he affixed his signature.
The former Vice President further explained that the framework document was a document that defined how they are to operate and all of that was included in the document and Atty. Gloud who is on this bench as lawyer was the chairman of the committee, noting that he can state when all those was placed in the document.
When asked by the defense lawyer if he was aware of the investigative finding of the alleged alteration of the CPP framework document that was conducted under the leadership of Senator Nyounblee Kangar-Lawrence as chairperson of CPP, Amb. Boiakai said yes he is aware of that finding.
‘’I am aware that the lawyers amended recommendations was bought to us and discuss after that, they were supposed to be submitted to the validation committee, since than I never saw the document.
The state is being represented by Liberia’s Solicitor General Saymah Syrenius Cephas, Cllr. Adolphus Karnuah, Cllr. David Wilson, Cllr. Johnny Momo, Cllr. Augustine Fayiah, Cllr. Dr. Mohammed Sheriff, Former Chief Justice Glorious Musu Scott, Cllr. Cole Bangalu among others.
While, the defense is represented by its lawyer Cllr. Abrahim Sillah, Atty. Lafalay Horacio Gould and Atty. Sadiatu Williams Worlor.
Meanwhile, Monrovia City Court magistrate Jomah Jallah has suspended the trial, pending notice of assignment after defense lawyers exhausted all the time allotted for hearing criminal cases.