{"id":67824,"date":"2024-11-19T13:29:00","date_gmt":"2024-11-19T13:29:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/liberia\/all-news\/heated-exchange-in-court-during-tweahs-bond-hearing"},"modified":"2024-11-19T13:29:00","modified_gmt":"2024-11-19T13:29:00","slug":"heated-exchange-in-court-during-tweahs-bond-hearing","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/liberia\/all-news\/heated-exchange-in-court-during-tweahs-bond-hearing","title":{"rendered":"Heated Exchange in Court During Tweah\u2019s Bond Hearing"},"content":{"rendered":"

Africa-Press – Liberia. <\/strong><\/span>A chaotic scene erupted between Judge Blamo Dixon and Solicitor General Augustine Fayiah on Friday, November 15, during Samuel Tweah\u2019s bail hearing at Criminal Court \u201cC\u201d at the Temple of Justice, regarding the questioning of Tweah\u2019s bond man. The intense disruptive argument caused a delay in the legal proceedings for several hours.<\/p>\n

The investigation was focused on the legitimacy of the US$8 million property valuation bond posted for Tweah, the former Finance Minister, and his co-defendants.<\/p>\n

However, Cllr. Fayiah, the Solicitor General and lead prosecutor, engaged in a heated argument with Judge Blamo Dixon over the validity of the bond secured by Tweah and his legal team.<\/p>\n

The bond was secured by Patrick Coleman and covered properties in Johnsonville Township, Caldwell and New Georgia, Montserrado County.<\/p>\n

The prosecution, led by the Ministry of Justice and the Liberia Anti-Corruption Commission (LACC), objected to the bond\u2019s validity, citing identified defects which, they argued, rendered it potentially invalid and insufficient.<\/p>\n

Despite previous postponements due to prosecution excuses, the hearing on Friday marked the third session within a week. The tense exchange erupted between Cllr. Augustine Fayiah and Judge Blamo Dixon when the defense lawyer, Cllr. Arthur Johnson, began questioning Mr. Coleman, the surety. The disagreement escalated, with Fayiah accusing Johnson of influencing the witness\u2019s responses.<\/p>\n

Cllr. Fayiah took serious exception, accusing Johnson of signaling to the surety, who was on the witness stand, on how to answer his (Johnson\u2019s) question.<\/p>\n

Judge Dixon attempted to mediate the situation but faced resistance from Fayiah.<\/p>\n

The courtroom interaction suddenly escalated into a tense exchange, between Dixon and Fayiah drawing significant attention, as they spoke loudly as the argument went on for hours.<\/p>\n

Eyewitnesses said Judge Dixon even went to the extent of reminding Fayiah that Coleman \u201cwas not a witness, but a surety who was brought to justify his bond.\u201d<\/p>\n

In response, Fayiah immediately raised his voice and replied: \u201cHe is a witness, and the lawyer cannot instruct him. I want you to control him. He is instructing the witness.\u201d<\/p>\n

This response triggered the judge\u2019s anger, and he retorted, \u201cOh really? You can\u2019t interfere with the lawyer questioning the surety. You have to wait for your time, to cross-examine the surety.\u201d<\/p>\n

The Solicitor General, maintaining his stance, responded firmly, \u201cstop him from instructing the witness.\u201d<\/p>\n

The judge, clearly displeased, asked the defense lawyer not to go close to the surety on the witness stand.<\/p>\n

Fayiah replied, \u201cThis is what I expect from you.\u201d<\/p>\n

The Judge became more irritated, and warned the lawyer to avoid making frivolous comments.<\/p>\n

In response, Fayiah said, \u201cI just want you to tell the lawyer not to go near the witness stand.\u201d<\/p>\n

Judge Dixon ultimately calmed the situation down, instructing Cllr. Johnson to continue with his questioning of Coleman, the surety.<\/p>\n

Coleman, however, denied the prosecution\u2019s assertion that the property valuation bond posted for the defendants is defective and insufficient.<\/p>\n

\u201cOn February 1, 2024, I paid US$30,000 tax on the property in Johnsonville to the Small Tax Division of the Liberia Revenue Authority (LRA), and a tax clearance certificate was issued to me,\u201d Coleman said in his justification.<\/p>\n

He said one acre of land, with a story building, one of the two properties for the bond, was bought for US$4,800 on April 10, 2012, probated and registered according to the law.<\/p>\n

According to Coleman, all of the properties under his care are worth several millions of dollars. Explaining his role in posting bonds for defendants, Coleman said, since 2000, real estate owners had entrusted him with their properties for bond purposes.<\/p>\n

\u201cI am a recognized real estate agent and owner of properties. I have an oversight responsibility to manage, secure bonds, and to file property valuation bonds. I am Attorney-In-Fact for several real estate owners.\u201d<\/p>\n

Tweah\u2019s case is scheduled to continue with the prosecution cross examining Coleman\u2019s bond for November 20.<\/p>\n

For More News And Analysis About Liberia<\/a> Follow Africa-Press<\/a><\/strong><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Africa-Press – Liberia. A chaotic scene erupted between Judge Blamo Dixon and Solicitor General Augustine Fayiah on Friday, November 15, during Samuel Tweah\u2019s bail hearing at Criminal Court \u201cC\u201d at the Temple of Justice, regarding the questioning of Tweah\u2019s bond man. The intense disruptive argument caused a delay in the legal proceedings for several hours. […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":84,"featured_media":67823,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[2,12],"tags":[233,237,234],"class_list":["post-67824","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-all-news","category-policy","tag-africa-press","tag-africa-press-liberia","tag-liberia"],"yoast_head":"\nHeated Exchange in Court During Tweah\u2019s Bond Hearing - Liberia<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/liberia\/all-news\/heated-exchange-in-court-during-tweahs-bond-hearing\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Heated Exchange in Court During Tweah\u2019s Bond Hearing\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"Africa-Press – Liberia. A chaotic scene erupted between Judge Blamo Dixon and Solicitor General Augustine Fayiah on Friday, November 15, during Samuel Tweah\u2019s bail hearing at Criminal Court \u201cC\u201d at the Temple of Justice, regarding the questioning of Tweah\u2019s bond man. The intense disruptive argument caused a delay in the legal proceedings for several hours. 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