The Supreme Court of Liberia through its Chambers Justice Yamie Quiqui Gbeisay on Tuesday, December 10, 2024, declined to issue the writ of certiorari prayed for by state prosecutors to prevent the lower court from admitting a defective bail bond of former Finance Minister Samuel D. Tweah as a surety for criminal appearance.
After the conference, state lawyer said even though the Justice in Chambers admitted that there are errors in the bond proffered by Defendant Tweah but ordered them to proceed with the matter in the soonest possible time.
It can be recalled on December 3, 2024, the Supreme Court of Liberia Chambers Justice Yamie Quiqui Gbeisay issued a stay order on the proceedings which should have commenced on December 4, 2024 after state lawyers filed a writ of certiorari against Judge Blamo A. Dixon of Criminal Court “C” along with defendant Tweah and four other defendants.
Defendants Samuel D. Tweah, former Finance Minister, Nyanti 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, Jefferson Karmoh former National Security Advisor to President George Weah, were arrested, charged and indicted for 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.
Justice Gbeisay’s order reads, “By directive of his Honor Yamie Quiqui Gbeisay, Associate Justice presiding in Chambers you are hereby cited to a conference with his Honor on Tuesday December 10, 2024, at hour of 10:00 am in connection with the above captioned case.
It furthered, “You are hereby ordered to stay all further proceedings and or actions in this matter pending outcome of the conference.” The accused defendants were expected to be arraigned before the Judge of Criminal Court C on Wednesday, December 4, 2024, but state prosecutors ran to the Chambers Justice of the Supreme Court on December 3, 2024 to request for the issuance of a Writ of Certiorari.
In government lawyers’ nine counts petition for a writ of certiorari filed against former Finance Minister Samuel D. Tweah and Judge A. Blamo Dixon states that first respondent (Judge Blamo Dixon) manifested bias when he granted bail to second respondent (Samuel D. Tweah) on personal recognizance although defendant Tweah didn’t make an application thereof and Tweah surety agreed, it was evident that the criminal appearance bonds as filed by the second respondent (Tweah) was defective and did not meet the requirement of law.
Prosecuting attorneys in the petition alleged that the second respondent (Tweah ) is an indictees accused of the commission of the crimes of Economic Sabotage, Misuse of Public Money and or Records, Illegal Disbursement of Public Money, Theft of Property, Criminal Facilitation and Criminal Conspiracy.
State lawyers argued that second respondent Tweah individually filed various bonds using properties that did not meet the statutory requirements.
Based on that, government lawyers in keeping with law, filed exceptions to the validity of each of the various property bonds that were filed by the second respondent/defendant.
On the scheduled day for the hearing of the justification of the bonds filed for and on behalf of the second respondent/ defendant (Tweah) after representation of the parties were announced, second respondent surety was sworn and put on the witness stand where he testified on direct examination that the properties he proffered into bonds for the movants/defendants were given to him by the owners of said properties to apply them for the purpose of bond as he may deem fit, as has applied for the surety for the second respondent/defendant Tweah.
Tweah’s surety also testified further that the monetary value as inscribed in the various title deeds of the proffered bonds were genuine and authentic in fact and law; emphasizing that the government of Liberia was aware of their existence by means of the probation registration and tax payments done for the properties to LRA.
Tweah’s surety confirmed that two of the properties used as bond has one and the same property identification number (an anomaly) and that the properties were tax delinquent or were indebted to the government of Liberia, thereby creating tax-lien on the bonds raised by petitioner which became glaring and conspicuous; and thereupon the bond was rendered unworthy to stand as surety in these criminal proceedings bias and ground for petitioner’s petition for the issuance of the writ of certiorari.
But after government lawyers cross examination of the second respondent’s (Tweah’s) surety, first respondent (Judge Dixon) on his own accord ordered the clerk of court to read in open court, a communication from LRA that was issued as a result of petitioner’s request for LRA to verify the surety’s tax payment for the properties proffered as bond for second respondents/ defendants.
After the reading of the communication, Judge Dixon, first respondent, used the same letter to cross the surety as to the validity of the asserted qualms raised in said letter to which the surety argued of not been served with the letter notwithstanding, the service of said letter on second respondent/ defendant’s counsels on which basis movants/defendants moved the moved the court to justify the bond without care about the tax-lien on the properties as detailed in LRA communication.
Judge Dixon without regards to his duty of cool neutrality as referee, granted second respondent’s motion to justify amidst a litany of defects on the individual and collective bonds of second respondents-another factual and legal reason for this petition for the writ of certiorari to be issued against first and second respondents in the name of justice and fair play.
It can be recalled, Tweah and other former officials of government were indicted by the Liberian government in September of this year for allegedly stealing LD$1,055,152,540 billion and US$500,000 during their tenures at their respective positions.
By T.Q. Lula Jaurey
