The legal proceedings in the economic sabotage case involving former Finance Minister Samuel D. Tweah and four others were suspended by the Supreme Court of Liberia on Tuesday, July 1, 2025. The reason for this suspension is currently unknown. The Clerk of Court, Sam Mamorlu, has been tasked with preparing a brief announcement regarding the postponement of the trial, leaving both legal practitioners and the public uncertain about the situation.
The court unexpectedly halted the case involving Tweah, Nyanti Tuah, and others, who face multiple charges including the misuse of public money, criminal conspiracy, and abuse of office. The defendants have denied all allegations against them. As of now, no new date for the proceedings has been set, and the court has not provided any further details.
Recently, state prosecutors submitted a motion to the Supreme Court requesting that the outgoing Chief Justice, Sie-A-Nyeneh Yuoh, recuse herself from presiding over the case against Tweah and the four other defendants. The motion contends that Chief Justice Yuoh reached the constitutional retirement age of 70 on June 26, 2025, and therefore cannot legally commence any new judicial proceedings.
A hearing was scheduled for July 1, 2025, at 11:00 a.m., but state lawyers sought a delay, citing what they believe to be a constitutional impediment to Justice Yuoh’s continued involvement in the case. The prosecution’s petition referenced Article 72(b) of the 1986 Constitution of Liberia, which states: “The Chief Justice and Associate Justices of the Supreme Court and Judges of subordinate courts of record shall be retired at the age of seventy; provided, however, that a Justice or Judge may continue in office for the purpose of performing any judicial duties in relation to proceedings which were commenced before he or she attained that age.”
The state lawyers argued that since the case against Tweah was scheduled to begin after Justice Yuoh’s retirement date, she is no longer constitutionally authorized to preside over it. This motion is part of broader efforts by the prosecution to delay the proceedings and seek clarity on who should properly oversee the trial.
The Supreme Court has yet to issue a ruling on the motion. Meanwhile, the hearing for the high-profile economic sabotage case has been postponed to a later date. It can be recalled that Tweah, Nynati Tuan, former Acting Justice Minister/Solicitor General, D. Moses P. Cooper, former Controller Financial Intelligence Agency, Stanley S. Ford, former Director of Financial Intelligence Agency, and Jefferson Karmoh, former National Security Advisor to former President George Weah, were indicted for the August Term Of Court with the crimes of Economic Sabotage: (Fraud on the Internal Revenue of Liberia Misuse of public money, property, or record; Theft and/or illegal disbursement and expenditure of public money) Theft of Property, Money Laundering, Criminal Facilitation, and Criminal Conspiracy.
