Gov’t Drops Charges Against Ellen Corkrum

By Grace Q. Bryant
The Criminal Court ‘C’ at the temple of Justice has granted the request of government’s lawyers to Nolle Prosequoi the case involving the Former Managing Director of the Liberia Airport Authority (LAA), Madam Ellen Corkrum, for all the criminal charges against her.
Defendant Corkrum and others were charged with the crimes of Economic Sabotage, theft of Property, Criminal Conspiracy and Misapplication of entrusted Property.
The Government of Liberia recently filed a motion to Nolle Prosequoi the indictment drawn against defendant Corkrum on grounds that the case has being pending before the court as of 2013 to date, and including today’s date, without having the opportunity to serve the defendant with the indictment or the writ of arrest so as to bring her under the jurisdiction of the court.
According to state prosecutors, after the indictment was obtained against the defendants, it had become very impossible to have the defendant serve with the indictment. “As a matter of law, the proceedings have been on the docket of the court for almost five years, thereby making it impossible to have the case assigned for trial.”
The state’s lawyers maintained that the decision to enter a Nolle Prosequoi is with reservation and without prejudice to the state and prays the court to dismiss as in keeping with Chapter 18, Section 18.1 of the Criminal Procedure Law of Liberia.
The law states “that the prosecuting Attorney may, by leave of court, file a dismissal of an indictment, complaint or a count contained therein, as to either all or some of the defendants. The prosecution shall thereupon terminate to the extent indicated in the dismissal”.
It can be recalled that from October 1st 2012 up to 4th day of February 2013, a period of five (5) months at the head office of the Liberia Airport Authority , private Prosecutrix , located at the James Sprigs Payne Airfield ,defendants Musa Bility and Ellen K. Corkrum there and then being chairman of the Board of directors and Managing Director as signatories to the (LAA)to maintain with the Liberian Bank for Development and Investment (LBDI) , did criminally conspired with co-defendants Diaspora Consulting LLC represented by Momar Dieng and the LBDI and defrauded the Private Prosecutrix by making unauthorized transfer of fund aggregating to US$269,000.00 (United States Dollars , Two Hundred Sixty Nine Thousand) from the account of LAA.
According to the indictment, on December 4 & 5, 2012, the LAA, Private Prosecutrix through its Managing Director, Co-defendant Corkrum, submitted two requests to the PPCC for ‘no objection’ to single source SSF Entrepreneur Inc, and Diaspora Consulting for rehabilitation of RIA’s runway and other payments in the combined amount of US$1,283,333,00 proposed for SSF Entrepreneur Inc.