Liberia: Pres. Weah Issues Last Pardon in Office, as Samukai Benefits
These former government officials [Samukai and deputies] are also relieved of their legal obligation to refund to the Liberian government the money that they were convicted of misappropriating while serving in their respective capacities at the Ministry of National Defense.
President George Weah has issued the final batch of pardons to a group that includes former Defense Minister Brownie Samukai, who, along with two deputies, was convicted of embezzling US$1.3 million that members of the Armed Forces of Liberia had saved for their pensions.
As part of the conviction, Samukai, along with deputies Joseph Johnson and James Nyuman Ndokor, were ordered imprisoned for a two-year term after failing to restitute at least U.S.$1.1 million of the embezzled money, which was taken from the soldiers’ pension account during the administration of former President Ellen Johnson-Sirleaf.
However, when Samukai and his deputies failed to pay US$537,828.15, comprising 50 percent of the total amount within six months as ordered by the Supreme Court, the President stepped in to grant the former Minister of Defense an executive clemency—suspending his two-year jail sentence, while requesting him to work with the Ministry of Justice to enter a stipulation to restitute the embezzled money.
Nevertheless, a stipulation agreement between the Ministry of Justice and Samukai required him to pay US$500 monthly for the crimes of “theft of property, criminal conspiracy, misuse of public money, and money laundering,” which led to his conviction along with his two deputies.
The agreement means it would have taken Samukai more than 150 years to restitute the over US$1 million he was convicted for, along with two others. US$6,000 was the minimum annual sum of the monthly money expected to be paid by Samukai, and after 150 years of consistent payments, he would only reach “US$900,000 and still be left with an outstanding balance of US$56,380.30.
However, it is unclear as of now whether Samukai ever paid US$500 monthly as agreed with the government or not.
In a release, the Presidency only said that the “former Government Officials” were being “relieved of their legal obligation to refund to the Liberian government the money that they were convicted of misappropriating while serving in their respective capacities at the Ministry of National Defense.”
The Presidential pardon given to Samukai and 100 others is backed by the Constitution under Article 59, which states, inter alia, that the President may remit any public forfeitures and penalties, suspend any fines and sentences, grant reprieves and pardons, and restore civil rights after conviction for all public offenses, except impeachment.
According to the Presidency, with the exception of Samukai and his deputies' situation, the rest of the pardons being issued are to “individuals who were convicted of committing minor offenses by the courts of Liberia and were serving various prison terms, individuals with life-threatening illnesses, old age, and individuals who served a substantial amount of time for which they were sentenced and demonstrated good behavior while serving their respective sentences.”
Meanwhile, the Minister of Justice, Cllr. Frank Musah Dean, has been mandated by the President, according to a release, to ensure the unhindered implementation of the “Presidential Pardon, in keeping with judicial procedures.
It can be recalled that in early November, ahead of the runoff election, Samukai, a key member of the strategic advisory team of president-elect Joseph Boakai, was spotted attending a church service at President Weah’s Forky Klohn Jlaleh Family Fellowship Church.
Photos and videos of the service, which went viral on social media and were widely shared on various online platforms, showed the former Defense Minister seated on the podium alongside President Weah, First Lady Clar Weah, and Foreign Minister Dee-Maxwell Kemayah at the President’s Forky Klon Jlaleh Fellowship Church.