Abednego Davis
Africa-Press – Liberia. Former Foreign Affairs Minister Dee-Maxwell Saah Kemayah and three others arrested in connection with a major fraud case involving Saudi-donated humanitarian aid were on Thursday temporarily released from the Monrovia Central Prison without a formal bond hearing.
The release of Kemayah, along with former General Services Agency (GSA) Director General Mary Broh, former Deputy Foreign Minister for Administration Thelma Sawyer, and former National Disaster Management Agency (NDMA) Director for Disaster Victims Henry O. Williams, followed interventions by their lawyers and key political stakeholders. However, others indicted in the case remain behind bars.
The four are among at least 15 individuals accused of misappropriating US$425,918 worth of rice donated by the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia in April 2023 through the King Salman Humanitarian Aid and Relief Center (KSrelief). The rice, totaling 29,412 bags and weighing 735,300 kilograms, was intended to support food security and assist disaster victims and vulnerable communities in Liberia. The donation was handed over to the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and the NDMA but has since become the focus of a sweeping investigation by the Assets Recovery and Property Retrieval Task Force (AREPT).
According to the indictment issued by the Montserrado County Grand Jury, the rice was stored across three locations: 11,200 bags at GSA Warehouse #1, 12,292 bags at NDMA Warehouse #2, and 5,920 bags at NDMA Warehouse #3. The government alleges that 25,054 of those bags—worth US$425,918—were illegally sold, diverted, or otherwise unaccounted for, resulting in a massive loss to the state.
The indictment alleges that co-defendants Kemayah and Sawyer overstepped their official roles at the Foreign Ministry to issue directives regarding the rice distribution, a responsibility that fell squarely on the NDMA. Co-defendant Henry O. Williams, then Executive Director of NDMA, was reportedly responsible for 4,317 bags, of which only 720 were found when his successor, Ansu Dolley, took over. Investigators concluded that Williams “misapplied, stole, took and carried away” the missing bags.
The indictment also implicates NDMA’s former Communications Director Archievego M. Doe, who is accused of wrongfully taking 250 bags under the pretext of distribution. Another co-defendant, Augustine M. Kollie, admitted during questioning that he unjustifiably distributed 4,282 bags without keeping beneficiary records. Kollie also stated that he supervised the release of 5,000 bags—of which 4,000 were allegedly squandered by himself and fellow defendant Edris Bility. Kollie claimed he was later instructed by co-defendant Augustine Tamba to withdraw from further involvement in the distribution process.
Rosetta Gbassay Bowah, NDMA’s former logistics officer, is accused of personally taking 1,000 bags from the 5,000 pre-positioned by Kollie. Meanwhile, co-defendant Wayfa Ciapha allegedly took 1,760 bags under the guise of distributing them to Group 77 communities, without maintaining any documentation to verify distribution. The rice remains unaccounted for.
The indictment also names several other individuals allegedly involved in the scheme, including Varney A. Sirleaf, Edward S. Konneh, Memie Davis, Momolu Johnson, Augustine Tamba, Evelyn Gbee, and others yet to be identified. Collectively, they are charged with multiple crimes, including Theft of Property, Economic Sabotage, Misuse of Public Money, Misapplication of Entrusted Property, Abuse of Office, and Criminal Conspiracy.
The Grand Jury indictment reads: “That, the total value of the properties and or rice jointly stolen, misapplied, taken and carried away illegally and criminally by Defendants Mary Broh, Dee-Maxwell Saah Kamayah, Varney A. Sirleaf, Henry O. Williams, Edris Bility, Augustine Tamba, Augustine Kollie, Momolu Johnson, Archievego M. Doe, Thelma E. Sawyer, Wayfa Clapha and Edward S. Konneh, Memie Davis and Rosetta Gbassay Bowah, Evelyn Gbee and others to be identified, is 25,054 Saudi Arabia’s donated rice, valued at USD$425,918.”
While the case is among the largest involving diverted humanitarian aid that U.S. government watchdog USAID-OIG has tracked, it remains in its early stages. Authorities emphasized that the indictment is only an allegation and that all defendants are presumed innocent until proven guilty in a court of law.
Source: Liberianobserver
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