Liberia: Ex-Justice Minister Runs Back to Supreme Court Over Link to ‘Missing’ Diamond
Former Justice Minister Frank Musa Dean on Monday asked the Supreme Court’s full bench to intervene in the long-running battle over a disputed 53.34-carat diamond, filing a Bill of Information just days after a scheduled lower-court conference in the case was abruptly canceled.
The high court has ordered all respondents, including Civil Law Court Judge J. Boima Kontoe and several licensed miners, to submit written responses by Oct. 13 at 10 a.m. before arguments move to the Supreme Court.
The Latest Supreme Court Order
A writ issued under the seal of the Supreme Court’s clerk, Sam Mamulu, compels the respondents–including Judge Kontoe, the court’s sheriff, and the miners–to appear and show cause why Dean’s petition should not be granted.
The order also directs them to file formal written returns to the clerk’s office on or before Oct. 13. The matter will then be heard by the full bench of the Supreme Court.
A Sudden Shift in the Case
The filing follows an unexpected twist on Oct. 2, when Associate Justice Jamesetta Howard Wolokolie, sitting in the Supreme Court’s Chambers, canceled a conference she had scheduled for Oct. 16. She directed Judge Kontoe to resume jurisdiction and proceed with the trial at the Civil Law Court “in keeping with law.”
No reason was provided for the cancellation.
That decision effectively lifted an earlier stay order issued Sept. 30, which had temporarily blocked the Civil Law Court from enforcing an arrest warrant against Dean. The warrant stemmed from Judge Kontoe’s finding that Dean and several former officials of the Weah administration were part of a “criminal cartel” accused of the illegal sale of the 53.34-carat diamond.
The Missing Diamond
The diamond at the center of the dispute was discovered in April 2023 at Claim 12F/Survey in Smith Town, Gbarma District, Gbarpolu County. The finders, licensed miners David Sluward and Mohammed Kamara, also known as “JR,” say the gem was theirs.
However, the Weah-era government seized the diamond, arguing the miners’ license had expired the previous year and that mineral resources belong to the state under Article 22(a) of Liberia’s Constitution.
Dean, then serving as justice minister, led a joint security investigation and declared the diamond state property, saying the miners had “lost all legal rights” when their license lapsed in May 2022.
The Ministry of Mines and Energy later confirmed the diamond was exported in compliance with the Kimberley Process Certification Scheme, appraised at about $1 million–far below the $11.5 million valuation cited in court filings.
Records show the exporter paid roughly $80,146 in royalties and fines to the government.
The Legal Battle
Sluward and Kamara challenged the government’s seizure in the Civil Law Court in Montserrado County, which ruled in their favor, finding the government’s claim unlawful.
The Weah administration appealed, but the Supreme Court ultimately upheld the miners’ ownership.
Despite that ruling, Judge Kontoe later ordered the arrest of Dean and several former officials, including:
Gesler E. Murray – former Mines and Energy Minister
Mustapha Tounkara – president, Diamond Dealers Association
Korvah Baykah, James Biaku, and Emmanuel T. J. Saye – linked to the gem’s appraisal and certification
Kontoe said they should be jailed until they accounted for the diamond’s whereabouts, calling the group a “criminal cartel.”
Dean has maintained he acted within his statutory duties as attorney general, citing Chapter 22 of the Executive Law, which mandates the Justice Ministry to represent the government in legal matters and advise on mineral and concession disputes.
By Liberian Investigator.
