Africa-Press – Liberia. The Supreme Court of Liberia has been drawn into a high-stakes legal battle involving former Justice Minister Frank Musah Dean, Jr., who has filed a Bill of Information against a ruling by Civil Law Court Judge J. Boima Kontoe ordering his arrest and detention in connection with a disputed 53.34-carat diamond discovered in Gbarpolu County.
Cllr. Dean’s latest move comes after his earlier request for a writ of prohibition was denied by Justice in Chambers Jamestta Howard Wolokollie. Justice Wolokollie had initially placed a stay order on Judge Kontoe’s ruling and summoned all parties, including the judge, to a conference on October 16. However, in a dramatic turn, she later canceled the conference and lifted the stay order, directing Judge Kontoe to proceed with the case.
Cllr. Dean, who served as Justice Minister from 2018 until January 2024, argues that Judge Kontoe acted outside the law when he ordered him and other officials incarcerated at the Monrovia Central Prison until they accounted for the missing diamond.
According to court documents, the diamond was discovered in Smith Town, Gbarma District, Gbarpolu County in 2023, sparking competing ownership claims. A government Joint Security Board of Inquiry, which included the Ministry of Justice, Mines and Energy, Armed Forces of Liberia, and the National Security Agency, concluded that the diamond was found on Claim #12F/Survey.
However, the Ministry of Mines and Energy determined that the mining license for that claim had expired in May 2022, nearly a year before the discovery. Dean said based on this, he advised that the Diamond belonged in to the government. This led the ministry to strip the license holders of any legal right to the diamond.
Despite this finding, the license holders – T. David Sluward, Abraham Kamara, and Mohammed “JR” Kamara – pursued legal action that culminated in Judge Kontoe’s ruling in September 2025.
In his petition, Dean contends that he was neither a party to the original lawsuit nor subject to the Civil Law Court’s jurisdiction, and therefore cannot be compelled to satisfy a judgment. He cites Article 20(a) of the 1986 Constitution, which guarantees due process, and Article 21(i), which protects the independence of lawyers and legal counsel from arbitrary interference.
Dean’s Bill of Information urges the Supreme Court to halt enforcement of Judge Kontoe’s ruling against him, cite the respondents for contempt for “irregularly” attempting to execute the Court’s mandate.
He wants the High Court to bar the lower court from further actions against him since he was not a party to the case.
The Supreme Court, led by Chief Justice Yamie Quiqui Gbeisay, Sr., has yet to announce when it will hear arguments on Dean’s Bill of Information.
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