Monrovia – The Alternative National Congress’ political leader Alexander B. Cummings has accused President George Weah of trying to use political influence to delay the ongoing trial at the Monrovia City Court.
Mr. Cummings is being tried by the government based on an allegation of forgery and criminal transparency filed by the All Liberia Party which was in political collaboration with Cummings’ ANC, the Liberty Party, and the former ruling Unity Party.
“This government is intentionally delaying the case for selfish political motives. They are embarrassed about my critical stance on corruption and other things that are directly affecting our people… It is unfortunate that this government has no evidence against the will of the people,” Mr. Cummings told reporters on Monday at the Temple of Justice.
His comments come after Judge Jomah Jallah of the City Court denied a petition from the prosecution’s request to have Mr. Cummings submit all documents pertaining to his recent travel to the United States to attend to his ailing mother.
Cllr. Cephus who had resisted Mr. Cummings’ travel to no avail told the court that the Ministry of Justice had doubts that he actually traveled to the United States, therefore, he should submit his Liberian passport with an American visa, his plane ticket, and boarding pass.
Mr. Cummings hailed the court for ruling against the government and termed the prosecution’s request as being of “selfish political motives”.
According to him, the government is embarrassed about his continued stance against corruption and other vices directly affecting Liberians.
This government is intentionally delaying the case for selfish political motives. They are embarrassed about my critical stance on corruption and other things that are directly affecting our people… It is unfortunate that this government has no evidence against the will of the people
Nevertheless, he has promised to remain vocal on the travesty of justice which he said is being observed in the ongoing trial of the ANC leadership.
The state prosecutors on Monday suffered two setbacks with the Monrovia City Court rejecting their requests for the Political Leader of the Alternative National Congress (ANC), Mr. Alexander Cummings, to produce his Liberian passport with an American visa and Whatsapp text messages in the trial involving the alleged alteration of the Collaborating Political Parties (CPP) framework document.
Magistrate Jomah Jallah of the Monrovia City Court said state prosecutors’ request for Mr. Cummings passport was beyond its jurisdiction and the request for Whatsapp text messages from its service providers is also outside the bailiwick of the court.
The ANC Political Leader, its National Chairman, Senator Daniel Naatehn, and Secretary-General Cllr. Aloysius Toe, is facing trial for forgery and criminal conspiracy for alleged alteration of the CPP framework document.
ANC authorities have vehemently rejected and denied the charges as bogus and politically motivated, and as part of conspiracies between the All Liberian Party of Benoni Urey and the ruling Congress for Democratic Change (CDC) with ulterior motives.
Meanwhile, State Prosecutors led by the Solicitor General Cephus have again made two requests for the court to extract the four pages of WhatsApp text messages, it produced and included upon demand by ANC defense lawyers. State Prosecutors on March 30, 2022, admitted to omitting the four pages of text messages and conversations between July 2, 2020 – and July 18, 2020, from the evidence presented in court, and said the pages were inadvertently extracted.
ANC Defense Lawyers in countering the request said it would be irregular and a serious reversible error on the part of the Monrovia City Court to order the removal of the four pages of social media text messages following its ruling on March 30, 2022, marking it as evidence in the trial. ANC Defense Lawyers said the four pages of extracted text messages discovered and later ordered included are crucial to vindicating the ANC Political Leader and others of the charges of forgery and criminal conspiracy.
Regarding State Prosecutors’ request to postpone the trial for the third time, twice for their unavailability and the third due to the claimed “illness” of State witness Theodore Momo, it was vehemently objected to by ANC Defense Lawyers, and rulings were reserved by the Court in all instances.
However, credible reporter’s investigation revealed that while the Cllr. Cephus was requesting postponement of the trial due to the ‘ailment’ of Mr. Momo. Mr. Momo was spotted at the National Elections Commission (NEC) witnessing the hearing into the complaint filed by the ANC and LP against the UP and the ALP over the alleged illegitimacy of their exit from the CPP and their eligibility to field a candidate in the ensuing Lofa County Senatorial by-election.
Source: Front Page Africa
