Lofa County’s Legislative Caucus is rallying stakeholders including the Liberia Council of Churches, Traditional Chiefs and Elders and others to beg President George Weah to grant clemency to Brownie Samukai.
Representative Beyan Howard told the media that they have no option but to appeal or beg for mercy having lost the case involving the convicted criminal alongside two others who are expected to serve prison terms for theft of property.
He said he and 3 others of the caucus like Clarence Massaquoi, Steve Zargo and Francis Nyumalin met with Kortu Brown of the Liberia Council of Churches for over 2 hours last Friday but did not meet with Zanzan Karwar, head of the traditional Council who is reportedly out of the capitol for similar discussion.
Howard stated among many things that they are rallying these stakeholders together with them to make an appeal to the President to pardon Brownie Samukai in particular, and others in general, which will able he (Samukai) to take his seat at the Liberian Senate.
“We have no option but to beg Mr. President for mercy to pardon or grant clemency to Samukai. We have lost the case which is political instead of legal. Therefore, we are rallying stakeholders of the country to help us beg Mr. President,” he noted.
On Thursday, 27 January, the Supreme Court ordered the incarceration of Brownie Samukai, Joseph Johnson and James Nyuman Ndokor, after they failed to return over US$ 1 million stolen from the government’s pension account.
Samukai and co-defendants have failed to comply with the mandate of the court by paying 50 percent of the judgement sum in the tone of US$537, 828, 15 within the period of six months.
The former Minister of Defense had faced hurdles in taking his seat as Lofa County’s Senator after the Supreme Court of Liberia halted his certification by the National Elections Commission (NEC) in December, 2020.
The higher court’s decision on Samukai of the Collaborating Political Parties (CPP) and his co-defendants was triggered by a Writ of Prohibition filed on Tuesday, 2 March, 2021, by O’Neil Passewe of the Movement for Progressive Change.
The MPC man asked the court to halt the certification of Samukai because he has been convicted by the Supreme Court for the crime of money laundering.
Associate Justice Joseph N. Nagbe, who issued the writ at the time planned a conference in the justice chambers for 2 p.m. on Tuesday, March 9, 2021, to discuss the case.
Samukai received the most votes in the December 8, 2020 Senatorial Election. Of the 11 candidates who vied for the Lofa County senatorial seat, Samukai received 20, 431 votes, followed by Independent candidate Joseph Kpator Jallah with 13,968 votes.
During the trial, there were threats and protests emanated from people believed to be the supporters or followers of Brownie Samukai wanting to make the country “ungovernable” including the bringing out of “country devils” that blocked Lofa and Bong Counties Highway.
Senator Steve Zargo and Representative Francis Nyumalin of the county precipitated threats and protests carried out, wanting the legal process to be subordinated for political reasoning, but that did not work.