NATIONAL NEWS
MONROVIA – Presiding Judge of Criminal Court “C”, Osuman Feika, has overturned the not guilty verdict previously returned in the high-profile economic sabotage case involving former Finance Minister Samuel D. Tweah Jr. and his co-defendants, while ordering the arrest and detention of all fifteen jurors who heard the case over allegations of jury tampering.
By: Trokon S. Wrepue – trokon1992seokin@gmail.com
Judge Feika’s ruling follows the findings of an investigative report into allegations that members of the jury were improperly influenced during the trial.
In his decision, the judge set aside the acquittal, ruling that the integrity of the proceedings had been compromised and that the verdict could not stand.
As part of the ruling, Judge Feika ordered the Liberia National Police (LNP) to immediately arrest and detain all fifteen jurors who served on the trial pending further investigation.
He further instructed police authorities to identify, investigate, and arrest all individuals who communicated with any of the jurors through telephone calls or text messages during the course of the trial, describing the alleged communications as central to the ongoing investigation into jury tampering.
The ruling marks a dramatic twist in one of Liberia’s most closely watched corruption cases, in which Tweah and several former government officials had been acquitted of economic sabotage charges after a jury found them not guilty.
The judge’s decision effectively nullifies that verdict, reopening legal uncertainty over the case while broadening the investigation into alleged interference with the judicial process.
Counsel for the former Finance Minister, Cllr. Arthur Johnson, immediately objected to the ruling, taking formal exception before the court. Johnson argued that the judge’s decision violated his client’s constitutional rights and indicated that the defense would pursue remedies available under Liberian law.
However, former Finance Minister Samuel Tweah has gone further, publicly rejecting the court’s decision and declaring that he would not participate in any further legal proceedings arising from the case.
In a strongly worded statement issued shortly after the ruling, Tweah accused the country’s justice system of abandoning the rule of law.
“Today, Liberian Justice and democracy took a gigantic step backwards but men are prepared to resist this slide into anarchy.”
Tweah maintained that the original jury verdict acquitting him remains final and beyond the authority of any court or government official to reverse.
“No judge, no justice and no President can ever change my NOT GUILTY verdict. It is etched in the history of our country!”
He dismissed Judge Feika’s decision as illegitimate, describing it as: “The kangaroo farce handed down today is just that: a kangaroo ruling.”
The former Finance Minister further announced that he had instructed his legal team not to challenge the ruling before the Supreme Court, insisting that his legal battle ended with the jury’s acquittal.
“I have instructed my legal team that my legal journey has since ended with my verdict and I will not submit myself to any Supreme Court process. As such, they will file nothing before the Supreme Court.”
Tweah argued that the matter had moved beyond the courts and into the political arena. “We have left the law and are now in the full realm of politics.” He concluded his statement by declaring: “I remain a free man.”
