Liberia: Leave the poor pathologist alone and blame the age-old system failure!

It is often said that wrong is wrong even if everyone supports it. And right remains right even if no one supports it. Decisions, wrong or right, must be taken and upheld to prove a point, either as a final arbiter with a self-interest or through manipulation. The judiciary all over the world has had its own basket of challenges because justice is done by people and people are not free from mistakes. However, sometimes it becomes compelling to question the performance of certain judiciaries with a repeated history of judicial misconduct, as is the case with Liberia’s judicial system, which has been constantly criticized by human rights activists and the world’s largest democratic country (America).

By Paul M. Kanneh & Jesefu Morris Keita, Contributing Writers

“The constitution and law provided for an independent judiciary, but the government generally failed to respect the independence and impartiality of the judiciary. Judges reportedly solicited bribes to hear cases, grant bail to detainees, award damages in civil cases, or acquit defendants in criminal cases. Defense attorneys and prosecutors reportedly ordered defendants to pay bribes to secure favorable decisions by judges, prosecutors, and jurors or to have court staff schedule cases for trial. Some judicial officials and prosecutors appeared to be under pressure, and the outcomes of some trials appeared predetermined, particularly when the defendants were politically connected or socially prominent,” US 2023 Country Report on Human Rights Practices in Liberia on

While we recognize that we do not have the legal expertise to criticize the legal content of the recent ruling by the Government of Liberia against Gloria Musu Scott for the murder of Chaloe Musu, we are nevertheless concerned about the latest ruling by the Chief Justice of the Supreme Court of the Republic of Liberia.

On 28^and August 2024, Chief Justice Sie-A-Nyene G. Yuoh said that the discrepancies in pathologist Kolee’s analysis were crucial factors in reversing the outcome of the case. She added that Dr. Benedict Kolee misled Judge Willie and the jury of Criminal Court ‘A’ while testifying as a state witness during the trial. Chief Justice further stated that pathologist Kolee indicated that the DNA samples collected from the former Chief Justice’s house (crime scene and victim) were all female samples without a male sample.

However, the Chief Justice said during cross-examination by the rebuttal witness, Dr. Mathias Okeye, the US-based Nigerian; Dr. Kolee changed his earlier statement when he admitted the presence of male DNA on the victim’s left finger; thereby contradicting his earlier statement. This, according to the Chief Justice, led to an unjustified life sentence for Councillor Scott and her three family members.

But Dr. Kolee has maintained through a media publication that he stands by his testimony given in court. “I STAND BY ALL THE STATEMENTS MADE IN COURT DURING THE TRIAL OF THIS CASE. I want to state in clear and unequivocal terms that NO injustice was done by me and my team in the said case; the wrongdoers in this case are those who maliciously stabbed Charloe Musu at least nine times which ultimately led to her murder.”said Dr. Kolee as he called on the judiciary to focus its attention on finding the killers of Charloe Musu.

This latest revelation by the Chief Justice seems to have seriously damaged the integrity of Dr. Benedict Kolee as one of the two domestic pathologists this country can currently boast of. While this is not a matter for public debate between the Chief Justice and us, we find it highly impractical to lay the blame on just one person: pathologist Benedict Kolee.

We see a larger problem with the entire judiciary of our democratic form of government which emphasises and promotes the equal but clear separation of power into the legislature, executive and judiciary respectively. We have come to realise that there is a fundamental problem with many anomalies which have become characteristic of the judicial mishap in connection with the Chaloe Musu murder case and several others which have caused a certain degree of embarrassment to the country in recent years. Moreover, from a cursory perspective, it is quite clear to us that there seemed to be a broader systemic problem with professionalism and dedication to duty as opposed to singling out one individual whose responsibility it is to report what he sees.

That said, allow us to mention some of the major legal battles that bear fruit on the point being made. It is no secret that judicial officers have on numerous occasions engaged in acts bordering on dereliction of duty, thereby affecting the outcomes of very important cases for the state. Such failures by judicial personnel, as reported by the US State Department report, point to systemic failures. In short, it is fair to say that judicial officers are the ones who should be held accountable because they are the ones who failed to perform their respective duties adequately and effectively.

We are reminded of the $100 million drug bust case (https://thenewdawnliberia.com/suspected-drug-traffickers-to-testify-in-us100-million-cocaine-bust-case/) that our government deliberately lost at Criminal Court “C” on 18^and May 2023. A jury in Monrovia with Judge Blamo Dixon presiding, unanimously acquitted the four accused men; a major blow to Liberia’s fight against illegal drug trafficking. As if that wasn’t enough, Judge Dixon ordered the prosecutors to return to the government approximately $200,000.00 that had been seized from the 4 defendants. In this massive judicial failure, the country’s traditional partner, the United States, expressed its sadness that the defendants were acquitted.

Then-U.S. Ambassador Michael A. McCarthy said he could not question the trial but was concerned that the defeat was not a sign of weakness in the enforcement of international criminal cartels.

Also in the year 2019, the Liberian nation and political space went into overheated mode when the Liberian government decided to impeach a member of the Supreme Court, Justice Kabinah Ja’neh. Here again, the Liberian government and in a way the judiciary was once again put on display for all to see. At the end of that process, many Liberians expressed their disapproval and disappointment at the manner in which political powers were used to undermine real justice and fair play by influencing the removal of a Supreme Court Justice. To date, the government then under former President George Weah refused to honor the decision of the ECOWAS community court after the deposed judge appealed there and won (https://newspublictrust.com/impeached-justice-janneh-wins-case-against-cdc-govt-at-ecowas-court#:~:text=Home,and%20Januaria%20Costa).

Don’t forget the case of businessman Amos Brosius and that of Judge Eva-Mappy Morgan of Criminal Court “A” where Judge Eva-Mappy gave one of the warring parties, Monrovia Oil Trading Company, access to the joint escrow account of the warring parties. In short, the said case has remained unresolved for almost a decade to date. In order to save face, the Judiciary Inquiry Commission has suspended Judge Eva Mappy-Morgan for one year without salary and benefits. This is the Chief Judge of a very important court (Commercial Court) who has been suspended for judicial misconduct.

On 17^and In April 2024, a court in Liberia also acquitted American missionary Lucas Richards in a landmark case. Lucas was accused of trying to murder his Liberian wife Jessica Llyold in September 2023.

All these examples reflect a disheartening picture of our country’s justice system and also speak of serious leadership and systemic failures that require a more holistic approach to restore confidence in the country’s justice system. It is said that great leaders take the blame and pass the credit. By acknowledging and learning from mistakes, you can lead by example and encourage your team to see mistakes not as the end of the road but as the beginning of growth. We therefore wish to call on Chief Justice Sie-A-Nyene G. Youh to act like a man by acknowledging the systemic failure and also take the lead in addressing the highlighted problem and others we have not mentioned.

So instead of tarnishing the image and integrity of Dr. Benedict Kolee, we urge you, Madam Chief Justice, to accept the current state of affairs and allow the poor pathologist to live in peace while you focus on addressing the age-old systemic failure that you and your colleagues have exploited to the fullest to settle personal scores. Madam Chief Justice, if the government of Liberia could lose a 100 million drug case that had the full support of the most advanced and powerful country, it shows that anything can happen within the Liberian judiciary, including acquitting the former Chief Justice and blaming the poor pathologist hired to do a piece of work.

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