IPNEws-Capitol Hill: The authoritative Independent Probe Newspaper, understand that today’s closed door meeting (chambers) of the Honorable Supreme Court has unanimously agreed to uphold recent writ of ‘Prohibition on the certification of Brownie Samukai’, as Senator of Lofa County.
According to highly place sources speaking in on condition of unanimity, told IPNEWS that the was a highly charged bringing of the chambers meeting bearing a final decision to place a writ of Prohibition.
Political and Legal pundits are furious that the purported writ of Prohibition against Brownie Samukai might just be another political stage managed decision to overturn the certification of Mr. Brownie Samukai.
Before today’s purported The Supreme Court Justice in Chambers, Associate Justice, Joseph Nagbe had issued a writ of prohibition on the certification of Lofa County Senator Elect, J. Brownie Samukai by the National Elections Commission.
In a preliminary hearing, today Tuesday,March 9, 2021, before the Justice in Chambers, Justice Joseph Nagbe concluded to issue a writ of prohibition and asked Lawyers representing various parties to reduce their arguments into writing and present it before the Justice in Chambers within seven days which will enable him to give his verdict into the matter.
The Movement for Progressive Change filed before the Justice in Chambers, Joseph Nagbe, to issue a writ of prohibition restraining the National Elections Commission from certificating Lofa County Senator Elect, J. Brownie Samukai.
According to the Movement for Progressive Change in it’s petition stated that Brownie Samukai is a convict because of the recent guilty Verdict by the Bench of the Supreme Court. The MPC in it’s petition said Brownie Samukai should not hold public office until after five years.
However, in a ruling by the Supreme Court Ruled In Favor of Samukai on Wednesday, February 24, the Supreme Court ruled and said that candidates James K. Marley, Hamet Kromah and Gayflor Tarnue were unable to prove the allegations of fraud and irregularities, which they claimed marred the exercises specifically in District #4 in Lofa County.
“Wherefore and in view of the foregoing the ruling of the Board of Commissioners of the National Elections Commission which confirmed the ruling of the Hearing Officer is affirmed. The clerk of this court is ordered to send a mandate to the National Elections Commission to give effect to this judgement. Costs are ruled against the appellants. And it’s hereby so ordered,” the Supreme Court ruled.
Court Mandates NEC to Take Charge Again
In the Justice in Chamber’s ruling, the NEC was mandated to take charge of the matter again, meaning that since its BOC had affirmed their Hearing Officer’s verdict, Mr. Samukai should be certificated as the winner of the election.
But on March 1, the Justice Minister wrote the elections body not grossly mandating as was done by the Solicitor General but clearly did in his letter.
Cllr. Dean writes: “We presents our compliments, and consistent with section 3.23 of the New Election Law, herewith inform of the attached final Judgement of the Honorable Supreme Court of Liberia, affirming the Judgement of Guilt against Messrs. J. Brownie Samukai, Joseph H. Johnson and Nyumah Dorkor, for the commission of the crimes of theft of property, misuse of public money and criminal conspiracy.
“Further, may we inform you, it is the law extant in our jurisdiction that any person convicted of a felony, committed in connection with his employment as a public servant is disqualified from holding public office until the sentence is served and/or the satisfaction of any other penalty imposed. For reliance, please see: Penal law, 4LCLR, title 26, section 50.12 (b) (1976) and 1986 Constitution of Liberia, Article 21(j).”
It has been a turbulent two months for Samukai since his overwhelming victory on December 8, 2021. Recently the same Supreme Court reaffirmed the verdict of the lower court convicting the Lofa County Senator-elect and two others to two years imprisonment or restitution of US$ 1.4 million.
It’s against the Court’s decision that Liberia’s Solicitor General, Cllr Syrenius Cephas is asking the election body not to certificate Samukai because he hasn’t restituted the US$1.4 million.
“Accordingly, since the guilty judgement is the law controlling, and constitutes a finality of the matter, and by law is not appealable in this jurisdiction, it is considered my opinion that it will be inarguable allay any and all concerns that may arise, and you will therefore proceed not to certificate him.”
In contrast, the minister of justice Frank Musah Dean, at his Senate appearance, told the senators that he hasn’t seen the communication written by the Solicitor General but was informed about it on Facebook and has no idea about why the decision was made to write the Senate.
He opted not to comment on the matter when asked by Montserrado County Senator Abraham Darius Dillon about whether he was aware of such letter, but rather referred the Senate to the Solicitor General, who he said could better respond to such inquiry.
Lofa citizens: A witch hunt
Residents of Lofa county last week denounced the move by the Supreme Court to request Samukai restitute US$1.4 million USD as the “single greatest witch hunt of a politician” under the presidency of George Mannah Weah.
According to a group of Lofa residents under the banner Movement of Lofa Residents in Solidarity with Samukai, the aim of all this is intended to “disgrace, intimidate and dehumanize Samukai through a mere propaganda and sensitional court case”.
“We are equally very disappointed and frustrated in the ruling handed down against Samukai. We, therefore, term this as politically-driven and a witch hunt against our leader,” the group’s statement said.
Lofa citizens’ anger at Supreme Court
The target of most of the citizens’ anger was Liberia’s Supreme Court, which the group accused of being out to disgrace Samukai.
“The manner in which the Judiciary Branch of our Government has been dispensing Justice in recent years, especially under the Weah-led government, has made Liberians to question the neutrality and integrity of that body,” the group said.
“During the trial, the Defense argued that they were authorized by the former president Ellen Johnson-Sirleaf, then Commander-in-Chief of the AFL and presented an authorization letter to the effect. How then the former minister of defense was guilty of executing the order of the Commander-in Chief”?
“Let the word go forth that we, the thousands of Lofa citizens who believe in the Senator-elect and voted him overwhelmingly wish to inform the Supreme Court that we are against the ruling”
Earlier the Minister of Justice, Attorney General Frank Musah Dean, wrote the Chairperson of the NEC Board of Commissioners (BOC), informing her that the Supreme Court had adjudged Mr. Samukai guilty of some crimes.
Before Now:
But before the Justice Minister had sent his letter to Mrs. Davidetta Browne-Lansanah, a series of events had taken place culminating into today’s disappointment for Samukai.
Complaints Filed Before the BOC for Fraud in Election:
The team representing the legal interests of the ruling party’s candidate and others, who participated in the election in Lofa and lost, had lodged a complaint to the Hearing Officer of the NEC that Mr. Samukai’s win was marred by fraud. After few days of deliberations from two legal teams, both the winner and the loser, the Hearing Officer declared Samukai the winner. The legal team of the ruling party’s candidate took appeal to the NEC BOC.
The seven-person BOC of the NEC, on February 5th, affirmed their Hearing Officer’s ruling, that Mr. Samukai indeed had won the Senatorial race in the county.
Again, the complaining party’s legal team, led by Cllr. Samuel Kortimai accepted the ruling and took appeal before the Supreme Court.
What Happened in the Interval:
While everyone was waiting the nation’s highest court to hand down its verdict, the Solicitor General, Cllr. Sayma Syrenius Cephus, sent a letter to the Chairperson of the NEC BOC on February 14, 2021. In his communication, which wasn’t a typical Valentine’s Day’s letter, he instructs Madam Browne-Lansanah, by extension her other six colleagues, not to certificate Mr. Samukai on ground that he is a “convicted felon.”
This is what he had said in his letter: “Further, you will recall that prior to the 8 December 2020 election, Mr. Samukai was found guilty by the lower court along with his co-conspirators for the same crimes. But took an appeal to the Honorable Supreme Court of Liberia, which automatically stayed the enforcement of the convicted judgement.”
“Therefore, the recent judgement by the Honorable Supreme Court of Liberia is not a novelty and did not depart from the holding of the lower court’s judgement; instead, it confirmed the lower court’s judgement, which means Mr. Samukai together with his co-conspirators has been a convicted felon from the date the lower court rendered its judgement in 2020.”
“Accordingly, since the guilty judgement is the law controlling, and constitutes a finality of the matter, and by law is not appealable in this jurisdiction, it is considered my opinion that it will be inarguable allay any and all concerns that may arise, and you will therefore proceed not to certificate him.”
