By Grace Q. Bryant
The Murder trial of former Chief Justice, Gloria Musu-Scott, took a dramatic turn when the defense team rejected two medical experts who were to testify on behalf of the government.
Dr. Guilavagui Mamady and his unnamed Physician Assistant were expected to have testified on the examination conducted on the late Charloe Musu, prior to her death at the Redemption Hospital, but their testimonies were rejected by the defense team.
The defense team’s rejection was made when they discovered inconsistencies in the death certificate, which they were invited to testify about its authenticity.
In resisting the two medical practitioners’ testimony, the defense argued that after a thorough review of the death certificate, they observed Dr. Mamady, while filing in the certificate, wrote “I, Dr. Guilavagui Mamady, hereby certify that I have medically attended to the above deceased, and that the particulars and the cause of death are true to the best of my knowledge and belief”.
However, in the upper left corner of the certificate, there were three options that the medical doctor needed to answer to, which are “I have seen, have not seen,
and I have not seen all”.
In answering to the one of the options, the Dr. Mamady circled, “I have not seen”.
Based on the conflicting information, and the defense’ arguments for disqualification of the testimony, Judge Willie therefore ordered to Subpoena the Liberia Medical Dental Association to provide information on the process to issuing of Death Certificates from hospitals, wherein that deceased person was seen by medical personnel that is not a Medical Doctor.
The prosecution further prayed that the court should grant the Physician Assistant between 30 to 45 minutes to allow him to testify to the Medical Records of the deceased.
Prosecution further stated that Dr. Mamady had to sign the Death Certificate because a Physician Assistant who is not a Medical Doctor cannot sign a death certificate, and so he had to sign the Death Certificate.
Prosecution further told the Court that Dr. Mamady cannot communicate in English fluently, and therefore difficult for him to attest or confirm or affirm any comments, especially as it relates to the signing of the Death Certificate, therefore praying the Court to write the Ministry of Foreign Affairs to provide this Court with an interpreter who is fluent in the French language for the said purpose.
Judge Willie furthered that the communication will be issued out of the court on October 25, and one of the authorities of the Liberia Medical and Dental Association will appear in the Court on Thursday, October 26, at 10:30am.
