Liberia: Koffa, Others Indictment Imminent

Members of the 55th Legislature who have been charged for their alleged roles in the arson attack on the Capitol last December are at the verge of being indicted by a Special Grand Jury, a defense lawyer who has asked to remain anonymous told the Daily Observer.

The move to indict the four members of the House of Representatives, including former Speaker Fonati Koffa, Representatives Dixon Seboe (District #16, in Montserrado County), Abu Kamara (District #15, Montserrado County), and Jacob Debee (District #3, Grand Gedeh County), follows the Ministry of Justice (MoJ) requesting Criminal Court ‘A’, which houses the Grand Jury for Montserrado County, to convene the special grand jury for the preparation of the indictment.

“The charged lawmakers will be indicted very soon because all is being done to ensure that that happens…, because public interest is involved,” the source said.

Public interest is key. The initiating factor for a special grand jury is the demonstration of public interest by the prosecuting attorney.

This news concerning the lawmakers is coming at a time when the Monrovia City Court has given the green-light to the prosecution to indict the defendants.

In its ruling, in a preliminary examination of the charges against the defendants that includes arson, criminal mischief and conspiracy, the court said, the prosecution presented enough evidence to suggest they (lawmakers) were involved in the December arson attack on the Capitol.

This means that the trial of the lawmakers would start in August, because all of the cases for the May 2025 Term of Court have already been docketed, and the term is expected to end by July.

Under the Liberian law, a special grand jury can be convened by a judge of the Circuit Court upon application by the prosecuting attorney, demonstrating that public interest requires it.

These juries are composed of fifteen individuals summoned to serve. This process is outlined in Liberia’s Criminal Procedure Law. Special Grand Juries are used to investigate and potentially indict individuals suspected of crimes, particularly when public interest is involved. A judge of the Circuit Court can order a special grand jury to be empaneled.

While special grand juries have specific public interest considerations, their function is similar to regular grand juries in investigating and potentially indicting individuals.

Grand juries are referenced in the 1847 Constitution of Liberia and are an integral part of the Liberian judicial system. They assist the judiciary in making decisions and support citizen participation in the legal process.

In his ruling, Magistrate Ben Barco said state witnesses were corroborative in describing events leading up to the burning of the Capitol Building, “such that they also described the role each of the defendants played in the conspiracy.”

Role of Each of the Defendants

According to Magistrate Barco, defendant Dixon Seboe is particularly named as the person who took the conspiracy to the effect that he recruited and manipulated a person to burn the Joint Chamber of the Capitol Building and thereafter facilitated their escape.

Whereas Defendant Abu Kanara, as one of the financiers of the plot, was accused of having recruited people he referred to as “actors to help in the burning of the Capitol,” Barco’s ruling noted.

Meanwhile, Prosecution witnesses narrated the role of Defendant J. Fonati Koffa as one of the financiers behind the plot, according to the ruling.

“They also accused Koffa of being aware of the burning of the Capitol even before the incident, as he was part of a chat room where the plot was hatched,” the ruling added.

For Defendant Jacob Debbee, Magistrate Barco said, he is said to have been aware of the plot by listening to the conversation regarding the same, but took no action either before or after the incident to inform law enforcement authority, which inaction defines his complicity.

“These narratives are sufficient grounds to establish probable cause,” Barco maintained. “Therefore, it is in the holding of this Court that persecution has established a prima facie case. Such that Defendants can be held to further answer to the crimes as charged.”

The allegations in this complaint are that the defendants, through telephone conversations and other means, criminally connived, conspired, sponsored, and purchased explosives, including gasoline, which were used to set ablaze the Joint Chambers of the Capitol Building, Housing the Liberian Legislature, on December 18, 2024, thereby causing damage to the said Joint Chambers at a cost of over US$1.8 million.

The complaint further alleges that before the December 18 incident, and in the aftermath of the riots, defendants brutally attacked or caused a police officer to be attacked and left unconscious. They also confiscated his gun and converted same into their personal use.

By Liberian Observer.