Dark Cloud over Samukai’s Final Payment; As Two Additional Motions Were Filed

-Two motions were filed before the Supreme Court of Liberia seem to breed hitches in Brownie Samukai’s Final Payment as mandated by the Supreme Court.

On August 26, 2021, lawyers representing the defendant Brownie J. Samukai at Criminal Court “C” informed Judge Ousman F. Feika that Samukai has paid 50% of his share of the total sum of US$1,943,971.99(United States Dollars, One Million Nine Hundred Forty-Three Thousand, Nine Hundred and Seventy-one and Ninety-Nine cents but a motion on Bill of Information and Motion for enlargement may not favor their client.

According to the defense lawyers, Samukai made 50% restitution of the judgment sum within six (6) months and thereafter enter an appropriate stipulation with the court as to how the balance shall be paid.

The lawyer informed the court that, co-defendants Joseph Johnson and J. Nyumah Dorkor within the said six months only paid 1000.00 each as mandated by the Supreme Court by their client J. Brownie Samukai has satisfied his portion of the 1/3 of the 50% payment to be made within six months and therefore in keeping with the said mandate enter the appropriate stipulation to complete his full payment of 1/3 50%.

However, the two co-defendants, Joseph Johnson and J. Nyumah Dorkor currently seeking medical attention outside of the court and could not fulfill their portion of the USD 191,276.05, and the said situation has caused them to file a Bill of information before the Supreme Court seeking Enlargement of time to have them pay their portion of the 50% which also Samukai.

Samukai’s lawyers concluded to beg the court requesting to “enter an appropriate payment arrangement” that will be accepted until the Supreme Court would either grant or deny the bill of Information seeking and enlargement of time by the defendants.

Meanwhile, Judge Feika, took judicial notice of the fact that a motion for enlargement of time is still pending before the Supreme Court while the state has also filed a motion for Bill of Information pending before the high court

“In light of the foregoing this court says it would be unwise to proceed with the enforcement of the mandate of the Supreme Court when the motion for enlargement of time filed by the defendants and the Bill of Information filed by the State have not been determined by the Supreme Court which is a superior court to this court, Hence these proceedings are therefore suspended pending the issuance of a notice of assignment”

It can be recalled that the Criminal Court “C” Yamie Q. Gbeisay has adjudged former Armed Forces of Liberia Browine Samukai, Joseph P. Johnson and James Nyumah Dorkor guilty of the crimes of Theft of Property, Misused of Public Money and Criminal Conspiracy. Judge Gbeisay said the defendants are hereby ordered to restitute the amount of USD 687,656,35 to the AFL pension saving account and USD 460,000.00 to the government of Liberia account, making a sum total of USD 1, 147,656.35.

He stated that the Court have not seen enough evidence of Economic Sabotage and Money laundering, adding that both charges are hereby ordered dismissed.

Judge Gbeisay revealed that sentence will be pronounced pending pre-sentence investigation in obedience to chapter 31, section31.5 of the criminal procedure law. The criminal Court “C” Judge said the clerk of the Court is therefore, hereby ordered to communicate with the probation service of Montserrado County to proceed to conduct ore-sentence investigation of the defendants herein and report to the Court in 15 days as of today’s date.

Judge Gbeisay said the Court is also of the considered opinion that the fact and circumstances of the commission of the crimes against the AFL in these proceedings by the defendants in which they illegally, wrongfully, intentionally withdraw funds from the AFL account by their directive and authority by using the comptroller of the Ministry of Defense, acted in concept and as such criminal conspiracy will lied against them.

He stated that the Court did not see the element of Economic Sabotage and is not persuaded by the prosecution testimonies and argument that the crime of Money Laundering was committed by the defendants.

Judge Gbeisay said this court hereby dismisses the crimes of Money Laundering and Economic Sabotage against the defendants.

Judge Gbeisay revealed that the Samukai, Johnson and Dorkor attempted to grab a straw when they vehemently argued that the prosecution having admitted that the money subject of the crimes is a private money, misused of public money as charged in the indictment should be dismissed, and the Court is at lost with that absorb contention. He said the Court earlier in this opinion, declared and proclaimed that Samukai and by extension his principal deputies were fiduciaries of the AFL personnel which fiduciary capacity permits them to be signatories to the AFL funds.

“The fact the money subject of dispute is a private and personnel money of the AFL, the action of the Minister falls squarely within the definition of Theft of Property as quoted above as found on section 51.51(a) of penal law, because the Minister knowingly takes misappropriate, converts and exercise unauthorized control over the AFL pension funds; by that, Samukai, Johnson and Dorkor misappropriated, because the money was not intended for the purposes for which they used USD 1.2M” Judge Gbeisay noted.