ABEDNEGO DAVIS
Africa-Press – Liberia. The Supreme Court is expected today to commence arguments as to whether Senator J. Milton Teahjay of Sinoe County is legally qualified to partake in the October 10 elections despite his prior conviction.
The court’s involvement is the result of a complaint from supporters of Representative Crayton Duncan challenging the qualification of Teahjay on grounds that he is a convict.
Duncan, who is contesting against Teahjay and represents Sinoe County District 1, has endorsed the suit.
Teahjay’s legal team has, however, resisted the allegation, arguing that the disability imposed on him as a result of the conviction has been removed.
The Senator’s lawyers noted that “he served his conviction by restituting the amount of US$50,000 misapplied, in 2014, when he served as Superintendent of the county.”
The case arose from an investigation conducted by the Liberia Anti-Corruption Commission (LACC), in which Teahjay and McDonald Wlemus, former Development Superintendents, stand accused of expending US$50,000, representing 30% of land rental fees entrusted to the two men by the Government for the development of the county.
The indictment alleges that Teahjay illegally disbursed, used, and expended, without any evidence, US$12,000 of proceeds realized from sales of rubber seized from illegal tappers from the SRC plantation,” the indictment statement.
“Therefore, the defendants did knowingly, feloniously, purposely, criminally, maliciously, willfully, and intentionally steal, pilfer, take, and carry away, exercise unauthorized control over, and convert the total amount of US$12,000 to their own use and benefit and or the use of the benefits of others,” the indictment added.
The 2014 new election law provides that those convicted of a criminal offense cannot contest elections; this ban does not apply to a candidate undergoing a criminal trial.
It can be recalled that in 2022, a decision of three of the five justices of the Supreme Court prevented the National Elections Commission (NEC) from proceeding with the certification ceremony of Lofa County’s Senator-elect Brownie J. Samukai.
Samukai, then former Defense Minister, together with two of his deputies, Joseph F. Johnson, former Deputy Minister for Administration, and J. Nyumah Dorkor, former Comptroller, without any authorization, withdrew the amount of US$1,147,665.35 from the pension fund belonging to soldiers of the Armed Forces of Liberia (AFL).
The three men were later declared guilty of multiple crimes including misuse of private funds and subsequently sentenced to two years in prison each, and also ordered to restitute the money within a year by the Criminal Court ‘C’. The judgment was later modified after Samukai and the others appealed against it to the high court.
In the modification, the Supreme Court said it was suspending their prison term on grounds that, if they were to pay fifty percent (50) of the judgment amount of the US$1,147,665.35, which is $573,832.68, within six months period, which expired by August, 26, they would avoid Imprisonment.
Unfortunately, Samukai is the only person among the three who had paid US$173,276.05 against the fifty percent, as demanded by the judgment of the Supreme Court that suspended the two years of prison term prescribed by the justices, until the fifty is completely paid.
In the case of Teahjay, he has made the full payment of said money but is challenged from participating in the pending October 10 elections, which the Supreme Court would have to decide before the October exercise.
For More News And Analysis About Liberia Follow Africa-Press
