MONROVIA – An impeccable source has disclosed to FrontPageAfrica that the National Elections Commission (NEC) will declare a vacancy in Lofa County, which means Senator-elect Brownie Samukai will lose his seat.
Our source, however, didn’t disclose when NEC will declare the vacancy.
Samukai, of the opposition Collaborating Political Parties (CPP), received the most votes in the elections. Of the 11 candidates who vied for the December 8, 2020 Special Senatorial elections, Samukai received 20,431 votes, followed by Independent candidate Cllr. Joseph Jallah with 13, 968 votes.
But the former defense minister has experienced mixed rulings with the Supreme Court since he won the senatorial seat in Lofa.
On February 24, 2021, the Supreme Court of Liberia ruled in Samukai’s favor in the electoral dispute case filed by three of his rivals, claiming irregularities and fraud in Lofa County District No. 4.
The Supreme Court ruled in favor of Samukai and mandated to the NEC to proceed with the matter.
On February 8, 2021, the Supreme Court upheld a criminal court’s verdict in the corruption case involving Samukai and a former deputy minister and the former Comptroller at the Ministry of Defense.
On March 24, 2020, the Criminal Court “C’’ found Samukai, Joseph F. Johnson and former Deputy Minister for Administration and J. Nyumah Dorkor, former Comptroller of the Ministry of Defense guilty of misappropriating US$1.3 million from the Armed Forces compulsory contributing fund that was deposited at Ecobank Liberia.
Samukai and his lawyers appealed the case. In his ruling issued, Judge Yamie Gbeisay, said the government did not produce sufficient evidence to convict Samukai and his two deputy ministers of money laundering and economic sabotage.
But the Supreme Court in its decision upholding the lower court’s guilty verdict said all public officials and employees shall obey all lawful instructions issued to them by their supervisors and they shall be held liable and responsible for acts of commission or omission as in the case of the corruption verdict.
The court found: ‘’That the defendant is guilty of misuse of public fund when he disposes, use, or transfer any interest or property which is entrusted to him as of.“That there is unrefuted evidence gathered from the record of this case that the soldiers of the AFL compulsory contributed to the fund in the AFL pension account established at Ecobank Liberia LTD therefore the said account is not a public account intended for the ministry of national defense.That there is evidence from […]
