Justice Minister, Solicitor General Fined For Disobeying Supreme Court’s Order
The Full Bench of the Supreme Court of Liberia on June 6, fined the Minister of Justice, Cllr. Frank Musa Dean, Information Minister Ledgerhood J. Rennie and the Solicitor General designate Nyanti Tuan US$500 each for failure to appear before them after they were held in contempt.
On May 30 the Supreme Court of Liberia summoned the Justice and Information Ministers to show proof why they should not be held in contempt following their damning statement made against the judicial system in the wake of the not guilty verdict handed down by jurors in favor of the defendants in the US$100 million cocaine case.
The Ministers were to appear before the full bench of the Supreme Court on Tuesday, June 6, 2023, to show cause why they should not be held in Contempt of Court.
Owing to travel engagement, the ministers did not appear, rather, they sent the Solicitor General designate Nyanti Tuan to represent them. However, Tuan was also fined for not carrying with him a writing communication from the Ministers about their unavailability.
The 100 million cocaine case was tried in criminal court C at the Temple of Justice and the not guilty verdict was handed down by jurors selected by the prosecuting arm of the government of Liberia and the defense team.
Following the verdict, the Ministry of Information released a statement under the signature of Minister Dean, stating that the verdict undermined the collective efforts of Liberia and its international coalition to clamp down on the illegal transit of illicit drugs using West Africa as the conduit to trade narcotics internationally from Latin America and elsewhere.
The Minister said it becomes worrisome and shameful as in the case of the verdict, for the courts to be setting hardcore criminals free when the evidence is overwhelming in the face of international security collaboration that tracked and brought the perpetrators of this heinous crime before the law.
He added that what was even more concerning and despicable is the fact that the verdict handed by jurors only lend credence to the widely held international and local perception that the judiciary- is somehow compromised and he also noted there are concerns about the unethical practice of jury trials because they are tampered with.
Meanwhile, the verdict, which shocked Liberia and the international community, has been seen by many as a missed opportunity in Liberia’s fight against illicit drugs which is fast destroying a large portion of the youthful population.
