[bsa_pro_ad_space id=1]

GeneralLiberia newsPolitics News

“Complete harassment, intimidation”

Senator Moyee terms subpoena against Boakai

By Lincoln G. Peters

Bong County Senator Prince Moye has described as complete harassment and intimidation, a subpoena of the standard-bearer of Unity Party (UP) and Liberia’s former Vice President Amb. Joseph Nyumah Boakai to testify in a criminal trial is an alleged clear attempt that the Coalition for Democracy Change (CDC) – led government is using the court to muscle the opposition community.

“What I see happening is constant harassment, intimidation of the opposition, mainly …. Joseph Nyumah Boakai that is loved by the people,” said Senator Moye Wednesday, 20 April 2022 when he phoned in to live radio talk show in Monrovia. 

At the request of prosecutors, the Monrovia City Court has subpoenaed Mr. Boakai to provide testimony in a criminal case filed against opposition Alternative National Congress (ANC) political leader Mr. Alexander B. Cummings.

Mr. Cummings is currently facing criminal trial after being accused by All Liberian Party political leader Benoni Urey of allegedly tampering with the Collaborating Political Parties (CPP) framework document and illegally attaching his (Urey’s) signature to a photocopy version. Cummings has always denied any wrongdoing. 

Mr. Moye claimed that carrying Mr. Boakai to court is going to further project him that the Liberian people want him.

“Amb. Boakai is going to make sure that this country is liberated. The forceful appearance of Amb. Boakai at the court is like getting him loved more by the Liberian people,’’ Senator Moyee noted.        

 Senator Moye accused the CDC – led government of using the court to muscle the opposition community instead of being concerned about the growing wave of hardship and poverty that the country is experiencing under this administration.

[bsa_pro_ad_space id=1]

Moye said the Government of Liberia is making a big mistake if it will use the court to clamp down on the opposition, oppress and suppress them to give the people the impression that those in the opposition are weakling.

He reminded the ruling CDC that when it was in opposition, there was a time it held protests and somebody died.

He argued that with all that happened, people still had sympathy for the CDC.

Former Vice President Boakai was next in line to testify at the ongoing criminal trial of Mr. Cummings and others.

Last week, Magistrate Jomah Jallah granted state lawyers’ request to have Mr. Boakai appear to testify for the State against the ANC political leader, its National Chairman Daniel Naateeh and Secretary General, Counselor Aloysius Toe.

Magistrate Jallah cited Mr. Boakai to appear on 19 April 2022, to testify as the second witness for the State, as requested by State prosecutors.

The development came as defense lawyers rested with cross-examination of State witness Theodore Momo, noting that his responses indicated no alterations of the Collaborating Political Parties framework document as reviewed and submitted by the CPP team of Lawyers.

But on Tuesday, 19 April 2022, Mr. Boakia failed to honor the court request on grounds that he did not receive any communication from the court citing him as a witness to testify against Mr. Cummings.

The Sheriff ‘returns showed that the writ of subpoena Duces Tecum and Subpoena Ad testificandum were first taken to the Unity Party headquarters on Broad Street in Monrovia, but the former Vice President wasn’t seen to serve him the writ on 15 April 2022.

On 16 April 2022, the sheriff said he again took the writ mentioned above to the home of the former Vice President at Rehab in Paynesville where the sheriff was received by EPS personnel and he was told that the former Vice President was getting dressed and told to wait on him, something the Sheriff did.

But court records show that after a while, his EPS bodyguards came back and informed the sheriff that the former Vice President had gone to the Monrovia suburb of Gardnersville after he was told that the former Vice President was getting dressed and he should wait a while.

However, when the writ was announced at the court, the media reported that Amb. Boakai was preventing the court officers from serving a Writ of Subpoena Duces Testificandum on him.

The reports claimed over the weekend that the Former Vice President made himself impossible to be reached with instructions to his securities not to allow the sheriff to enter his Rehab residence. 

This is after the Solicitor-General publicly announced that Boakai will appear in court on Tuesday, 19 April, as the “Star Witness of the government”.https://thenewdawnliberia.com/up-should-live-by-the-rule/

[bsa_pro_ad_space id=1] [bsa_pro_ad_space id=2] [bsa_pro_ad_space id=3] [bsa_pro_ad_space id=4] [bsa_pro_ad_space id=5] [bsa_pro_ad_space id=6]

NewDawn

The New Dawn is Liberia’s Truly Independent Newspaper Published by Searchlight Communications Inc. Established on November 16, 2009, with its first hard copy publication on January 22, 2010. The office is located on UN Drive in Monrovia Liberia. The New Dawn is bilingual (both English & French).
Back to top button