Monrovia – Former Minister of International Affairs Dee-Maxwell Saah Kemayah has condemned the Liberian authorities over what he described as his “illegal arrest and detention,” together with that of a number of different senior officers from the administration of former President George Weah.
By Selma Lomax | [email protected]
The previous international minister’s criticism follows corruption fees introduced towards him and others by the Ministry of Justice and the Belongings Restoration and Property Retrieval Process Drive, which he argues are politically motivated.
Kemayah, who spoke to reporters on Thursday following his launch from the Monrovia Central Jail, accused President Joseph Boakai’s administration of weaponizing the justice system to go after political opponents below the pretext of anti-corruption.
He maintained that the fees leveled towards him are baseless and geared toward tarnishing his fame and weakening opposition figures aligned with the earlier authorities.
“As a law-abiding citizen, as one of many political leaders in our nation, adherence to the rule of regulation is vital for us,” Kemayah stated. “There is no such thing as a method that we might be advocating for the rule of regulation after which run away from processes tied to it. We don’t have an issue dealing with justice; we simply name for impartiality. Definitely, it’s a political witch-hunt. We’ll come out extra strengthened, extra resolved, when it comes to our dedication to redeem this nation.”
Kemayah is one in every of over a dozen former officers who’ve been indicted by Particular Grand Jurors of Montserrado County for his or her alleged position within the mismanagement of a humanitarian donation from the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia.
The donation, made in 2023 by the King Salman Humanitarian Help and Reduction Centre, included 29,412 luggage of rice meant for catastrophe victims throughout Liberia. Valued at over US$425,918, the rice was meant to help weak communities affected by floods, hearth outbreaks, and different pure disasters.
Nonetheless, in response to the indictment filed at Prison Courtroom “C” on the Temple of Justice in Monrovia, 25,054 of these luggage had been allegedly diverted by former officers for unauthorized functions. The indictment claims that as an alternative of being distributed to meant beneficiaries, the rice was unlawfully repurposed, with no information of end-user receipts or audit trails.
The courtroom paperwork accuse the officers of colluding and scheming to intrude with the lawful distribution of the rice, depriving needy residents and the state of the help’s meant use.
Named within the sweeping indictment are a number of outstanding figures from the previous authorities, together with former Minister of Inside Affairs Varney Sirleaf, former Normal Companies Company Director-Normal Mary T. Broh, former Government Director of the Nationwide Catastrophe Administration Company (NDMA) Henry O. Williams, former Deputy International Minister for Administration Thelma Duncan Sawyer, and a number of senior officers from the NDMA and the GSA.
The prosecution alleges that between February 21 and April 2025, the indicted people had been summoned by the Belongings Restoration Process Drive and subjected to interrogation. They had been reportedly knowledgeable of their constitutional rights, represented by authorized counsel all through the method, and formally charged with a variety of offenses together with theft of property, financial sabotage, legal conspiracy, misapplication of entrusted property, and misuse of public cash and information.
A writ of arrest issued by Prison Courtroom “C” on June 25, 2025, and signed by Clerk of Courtroom Knowles W. Shain, approved regulation enforcement officers to apprehend the defendants and convey them earlier than the courtroom for trial. The doc instructed that an official return be made on the execution of the writ.
The indictment additional alleges that the accused officers, whereas in public service, failed to keep up authorized documentation explaining their dealing with of the donated rice and, in some circumstances, immediately facilitated its switch to unknown people and areas.
The alleged misappropriation, the federal government argues, displays a gross abuse of workplace and is a breach of public belief. The case has been introduced below numerous provisions of Liberia’s penal code referring to corruption, together with sections masking theft, sabotage, and misuse of presidency property.
Reacting to the allegations, Kemayah insisted on his innocence and questioned the credibility and equity of the method. “There is no such thing as a concern when your fingers are clear,” he stated. “All we ask for is an neutral {and professional} judicial course of. We’ll undergo it and are available out vindicated.”
Public concern over the arrests has been mounting amid widespread experiences of procedural missteps. Authorized counsels for the detained officers, together with former Affiliate Justice Kabineh Ja’neh and famend rights lawyer Cllr. Pearl Brown Bull, had been reportedly denied entry to their shoppers for a number of hours following their detention, sparking allegations of violations of due course of. Notably, Senator Edwin Melvin Snowe of Bomi County, who accompanied the authorized staff to the jail, was reportedly turned away on the gate, additional fueling public anxiousness.
Sources near the judiciary say the accused had been taken to jail earlier than the presiding decide of Prison Courtroom “C” had signed their dedication orders, a transfer authorized analysts describe as a severe procedural breach. Authorized commentators have argued that such actions threat undermining public confidence within the justice system, whatever the deserves of the case.
The case has grow to be a flashpoint within the debate over President Boakai’s flagship anti-corruption initiative, referred to as the “ARREST” agenda – an acronym for Belongings Restoration, Restitution, Safety, and Transparency.
Whereas the administration maintains that its marketing campaign is grounded in findings from forensic audits performed by the Normal Auditing Fee, critics argue that the selective concentrating on of officers from the Weah-era administration casts a political shadow over what was promised to be a reputable accountability course of.
The Ministry of Justice has not but responded to the rising criticism, however insiders throughout the administration recommend that President Boakai stays agency on his mandate to root out corruption and reclaim stolen belongings.
The administration’s supporters say the fees are based mostly on verifiable proof uncovered throughout official audits, and that nobody is above the regulation, no matter their political affiliation or prior place in authorities.
If convicted, the accused officers face doubtlessly prolonged jail phrases, fines, and the seizure of properties below Liberia’s anti-corruption and penal statutes. The case can be heard by Decide Joe S. Barkon throughout the present Could Time period of Courtroom at Prison Courtroom “C”. Protection legal professionals for the accused are reportedly getting ready an aggressive authorized response, arguing that the case is being pushed extra by political calculations than authorized deserves.
