NATIONAL NEWS
MONROVIA – Former Executive Mansion Chief of Protocol Nora Finda Bundoo’s lawyers have petitioned the Supreme Court of Liberia to stop the enforcement of a Criminal Court “C” ruling that led to her incarceration at the Monrovia Central Prison.
By: Melvin Jackson – Spoon TV Reporter
In a Petition for a Writ of Prohibition filed before the Justice in Chambers, Bundoo is asking the nation’s highest court to overturn Judge Ousman F. Feika’s decision denying her motion to justify sureties, rejecting her criminal appearance bond, ordering her immediate arrest, and requiring her to post an US$8 million criminal appearance bond.
Finda Bundoo, one of more than 48 defendants indicted in a sweeping corruption case prosecuted by the Assets Recovery and Property Retrieval Task Force (AREPT), is facing charges of money laundering, theft of property, misuse of public money, property and records, criminal conspiracy, forgery, and criminal facilitation alongside several current and former government officials and private individuals.
According to the petition, Bundoo was outside Liberia receiving medical treatment when the Grand Jury returned the indictment on November 5, 2025. After learning of the charges, she voluntarily returned to Liberia on June 9, 2026, presented herself before Criminal Court “C,” accepted service of the writ of arrest and indictment, and immediately submitted herself to the jurisdiction of the court.
Her lawyers argue that her voluntary return demonstrates respect for the judicial process and undermines any suggestion that she intended to flee prosecution.
Court records show that Bundoo’s first criminal appearance bond was rejected after the court ruled that one surety, Cllr. Abraham Wade Simpson, could not legally serve as both defense counsel and surety, while another surety, Fallah Fallabou, was himself a defendant in the same criminal case.
Judge Feika then granted Bundoo 72 hours to file another bond.
She subsequently filed a new bond backed by Cllr. John Moses Gbetee and Kai Garlo Farley, but prosecutors again objected, arguing that Gbetee’s property had already been pledged in several other criminal bonds and that the bond amount itself was insufficient because it did not correspond with the amount Bundoo allegedly misappropriated.
In his ruling delivered on July 21, Judge Feika agreed with the prosecution, finding that Gbetee’s property—valued at approximately US$350,000—had already been heavily encumbered by bonds totaling more than US$2 million, rendering it unsuitable as security.
The judge also accepted the prosecution’s position that Bundoo’s bond should reflect the amount attributed to her in the indictment and fixed her criminal appearance bond at US$8 million.
He then ordered that Bundoo be immediately arrested and detained at the Monrovia Central Prison if she was not able to satisfy the court’s requirements.
In challenging that ruling, Bundoo argues that Judge Feika acted contrary to Liberia’s Civil Procedure Law by denying her the legally mandated 72-hour period to file a replacement or additional bond after declaring her existing bond insufficient.
Her lawyers contend that instead of allowing the statutory period provided by law, the judge immediately ordered her imprisonment, an action they describe as unlawful and unconstitutional.
The petition further argues that the US$8 million bond violates Article 21 of the Liberian Constitution, which guarantees every accused person the right to reasonable bail and expressly prohibits excessive bail and excessive punishment.
According to the defense, Bundoo is only one of more than 48 jointly indicted defendants, many of whom have already secured their release on separate bonds. Requiring her alone to provide security valued at US$8 million, they argue, amounts to unequal treatment and imposes an impossible financial burden inconsistent with constitutional protections.
The petition also challenges what it describes as the trial court’s mistaken interpretation of Liberian law by requiring the value of a criminal appearance bond to equal the amount allegedly stolen.
Citing Supreme Court precedents, the defense argues that a criminal appearance bond is intended solely to guarantee a defendant’s appearance before the court and is not designed to indemnify the Government for alleged financial losses.
Another significant disclosure contained in the petition is Bundoo’s account of how she entered prison.
Her lawyers state that although she was absent from court when Judge Feika issued the arrest order, she did not attempt to evade law enforcement. Instead, she voluntarily reported to the Monrovia Central Prison, informed prison authorities of the court’s decision, personally contacted the court sheriff, and waited to be formally taken into custody.
The defense says that action demonstrates good faith and confirms that Bundoo has consistently cooperated with the judicial process.
