IPNEWS – MONROVIA: Even though the Supreme Court is yet to hand down final ruling in the case National Elections Commission (NEC) and Brownie Samukai vs the Candidate of the Ruling Coalition for Democratic Change in the case arising from the December 2020 Special Senatorial Election, which the Commission declared Mr. Samukai winner, the Justice Ministry has written warning the NEC not to certificate Mr. Samukai as winner of the election in Lofa County.

Mr. Samukai, a long-time security expert and former Defense Minister of the republic, had initially been declared winner of the county but the ruling party’s candidate ran to the NEC Hearing Officer arguing that there had been some issues with the election. Following the hearing, on February 5th , the elections body’s seven-member Board of Commissioners affirmed that indeed Mr. Samukai had won the election. Following the Commission’s ruling, however, the ruling party’s candidate and his legal team accepted the ruling but ran to the Supreme Court. The nation’s highest court is yet to hand down its ruling.

With that ruling from NEC’s BOC, Mr. Samukai was a joyous man in the driver’s seat as Senator-elect of Lofa county.

But his joy may now be short-lived based on some behind-the-scenes happenings and a recent letter sent to the NEC by the Ministry of Justice.

The former Defense Chief may now be in double trouble as the Justice Ministry has asked the Commission, ‘NOT TO’ Certificate him as Senator-elect, in keeping with a recent ruling from the Supreme Court, also involving Mr. Samukai.

The Court ruled on Monday, February 8, against the former Defense Minister and others. It affirmed a lower court’s verdict finding Mr. Samukai, who is Liberia’s longest serving Defense Minister, guilty of misuse of trusted fund, misappropriation, theft of property, criminal conspiracy, etc, of the Armed Forces of Liberia’s fund in the tune of over US$1.1 million.

The lower court had convicted the former Defense Minister, along with Joseph F. Johnson, former Deputy Minister for Administration and J. Nyumah Dorkor, former Comptroller, in March 2020.
However, following the Criminal Court ‘C’ Judge Yamie Gbeisay’s sentence of Mr. Samukai to two years of imprisonment, and his two deputies to one year and six months respectively or with a condition to restitute US$1.4 million over a one-year period, their legal team took an appeal to the Supreme Court. The Supreme Court on that Monday upheld the lower court’s judgement against the three men with modification that the men were equality guilty of the crime so should bear the full punishment of restituting the money or going to jail for two years. The court also mandated the three men to pay at least US$700,000 of the money within six months of this ruling and that at the end of the six-month period, a payment plan be made for the balance of the money or risk going to jail in a “common prison.”
It is now based on the above case, which has nothing absolutely to do with Mr. Samukai’s win in Lofa, that the Ministry of Justice, through the Solicitor General, Cllr, Sayma Syrenius Cephus, has written Mrs. Davidetta Browne-Lassanah, Chairman, NEC, asking she and other Commissioners, not to certificate Mr. Samukai.

In a Valentine’s Day (Sunday, February 14,) letter, under the signature of Cllr. Cephus, the Justice Ministry called on NEC not to certificate Mr. Samukai on grounds that he and the other two men, “were convicted for the crimes of theft of property and misuse of public funds in the tune of US$1.147,656.35.”

Cllr. Cephus added: “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.”