The All Liberian Party versus Alexander B. Cummings case has begun taking a political shift, with the drama beginning with international politics and the struggle for wheeling public sentiment.
Former President Ellen Johnson-Sirleaf has reportedly informed leaders of the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS) about the case in court, and with caution that if they do not intervene in withdrawing the case in the soonest possible time it could become a basis for derailing the gains made in bringing and maintaining peace and stability to the country, as the case is a magnet for violence, chaos and demonstration.
Alexander B. Cummings, Standard Bearer, Alternative National Congress (ANC), has come face-to-face with the law after being accused of altering the framework agreement of the Collaborating Political Party (ALP).
Observers are saying that the criminal case brought down on Cummings could make or break him for the 2023 general and presidential elections, claiming that some members of the CPP intend to either bring Cummings’ secret chicaneries to public glare or just want to tarnish his character to muddy the political water for him.
It is being perceived by some legal luminaries that the prosecutors in the Cummings/ALP case may have sufficient evidence to bring a guilty verdict against the ANC Standard Bearer, and this might be the reason they are asking for the case to be televised.
If found guilty, Cummings may not only serve a jail sentence but may not be able to contest the 2023 election, as Liberian laws prevent a convict from contesting an elected position. Even though the prosecution is with the responsibility to prove that the defendant is guilty as charged, Cummings’ lawyers can be said to have a more difficult task in the case, as they are allegedly up against two forces: folks from the CPP and government operatives who find interest in booting out one of the major contenders in the upcoming election to have a smooth ride on the opposition.
As the trial resumes on Tuesday, information has it that defendant lawyers may plea for the court to grant their client a permission to travel, in order to attend to important matters. However, it is also being rumored by legal insiders that, if the defendant counsel decides to make the plea, the prosecution lawyers would interpose no objection, but would demand that he provides his travel itinerary and duration, and would crave that the court suspends all legal proceedings until he returns to the country.
Cummings has been accused by the All Liberian Party (ALP) of forgery and criminal conspiracy, and is duly undergoing the legal process, with the order that he be present in court at all times of the trial.
Forgery was a felony of the third degree, with a maximum prison term of not less than 3 years in solitary confinement, but the statute has since been amended, thus making it a first degree misdemeanor, cognizable before the Magisterial Court.
Cummings appeared in court on Thursday, January 6, 2022 after a brutal scuffle between his security personnel and court officers, leaving a number of court officers severely injured.
At trial, his lawyers made a submission asking the court to grant their client voluntary discontinuance from the proceedings because of his status as the Political Leader of the Alternative National Congress (ANC). However, the submission was resisted by prosecution lawyers, and the Magistrate granted the resistance and denied their submission.
Because of the public interest attached to the case and the fact that he alone could not have done the entire crime all by himself, prosecutors moved for the amendment of the writ to include Aloysius Toe, ANC’s Secretary General, and Daniel Nateehn, ANC’s Chairman, consistent with Chapter 14, Section 14.7 of the Criminal Procedure Law, which the defense counsel interposed no objection to and so it was granted.
Following that, prosecution lawyers made an application for the trial to be televised due to the COVID-19 pandemic and to ensure that the trial conform to the tenets of open and public trial, but this application was resisted. On this, the Judge reserved ruling pending the issuance of a notice of assignment.
However, ex-President Sirleaf has contended that the matter in court is beyond legal ramification, and that the nation stands at risk of a political tension that could stimulate a national crisis. According to information, the ex-President is demanding ECOWAS’ intervention as quickly as possible to subvert any possible eventuality.
Her statement comes at a time a when her long-time friend and lobbyist of her regime, Riva Levinson, has allegedly descended on the Solicitor General of the Republic of Liberia, Cllr. Sayma Serenius Cephus, for handling the case in a manner as if the government was a party to it.
But in response to Levinson, Cllr. Cephus has said that her statement sounds quite stunning and makes quite a pathetic reading.
Cllr. Cephus, who is yet to be convinced that the text was actually written by Levinson, said “It’s a pale reflection of the purported author’s brazen lack of understanding of the Solicitor General’s role in the prosecution of criminal cases in the Liberian jurisprudence. The text is patently grotesque in character and content, and seems to have been crafted on the foundation of fear and misinformation being spread about a legitimate forgery and criminal conspiracy case against Mr. Alexander B. Cummings and his co-conspirators. To attempt to target people, specifically the Solicitor General, in a matter that was initiated based on the Liberian Criminal Procedure Code which grants citizens the unfettered Constitutional rights to complain before a court of law about the alleged violations of their basic rights, as in the case of the opposition All Liberian Party (ALP), and for which a formal criminal arrest warrant may be issued, clearly shows that the author does not understand the Liberian judicial system,” Cllr. Cephus responded.
In continuation, he said, “The purported author of the text message should understand that at the moment Cummings and his collaborators are under the principle of presumption of innocence—still presumed innocent until the contrary is established beyond all reasonable doubts. Being that the burden of proof rests on the state, it’s but fair to all and sundry to be circumspect rather than being judgmental and inflammatory in their attacks against their perceived enemies, not least the Honorable Solicitor General and Chief Prosecutor of this sovereign Republic.”
According to Cllr. Cephus, the text lacks proper context in addressing the statutory and Constitutional involvement of the Solicitor General for and on behalf of the Republic of Liberia, and fails to foresee the possible civil unrest, chaos and a state of pandemonium that the alleged forgery and criminal conspiracy may have generated if the court had not taken seize of the matter, by issuing the appropriate criminal writ.
“This is nothing but the author’s own figment of imagination of how she wants a matter of such grave nature to be treated lightly, irrespective of the quantum of available evidence. The Solicitor General has not and shall not, now and going forward, conjecture the slightest impression to cow either based on this text or in any other matter where the Republic of Liberia is a party, no matter who is involved. The author should ask all those who subscribe to the rule of law to appreciate and respect the court process,” the Solicitor General blasted.
Riva Levinson, in a leaked conversation between her and the Liberian Ambassador to the US, George S.W. Patten, Sr., is quoted as saying, “Further to our conversation the other day, I have made some inquiries. The prosecution of Alexander Cummings on what appears to be trumped up charges has not been well-received. There is renewed interest in Nathaniel McGill, whom you know from our previous conversations there is a dossier on. Now Benoni Urey and his daughter Telia have also attracted attention, as has the Solicitor General Cyrennius Cephas. I think people are also looking into the judge’s record, to see if he has a history of corruption. Just wanted to let you know, based on our relationship. Other than that, I hope you have a good weekend.”
Upon receiving the text, Ambassador Patten forwarded it to the Minister of State for Presidential Affairs, Nathaniel McGill, who may have also forwarded it to the Political Leader of the ALP, Benoni Urey. Possibly, Urey, too, might have shared the text message with his confidant, Henry P. Costa, who then posted it in the leadership chatroom of the Council of Patriots (CoP).
Unfortunately, a Vice Chairman of the CoP, Mulbah K. Yorgbor Jr., who is in the chatroom, also serves as Communications Director for Cummings campaign team; as such, he became furious upon seeing the text and began to fuss with Costa.
Yorgbor blasted Costa and the ALP for working with government against the interest of the opposition bloc, which he sees as a stab in the back that yields no positive fruit for their 2023 endeavor. However, Costa maintained that the ALP has sued Cummings over criminal matters and, in accordance with Liberian jurisprudence, the government is the one responsible to prosecute such matters.
The two CoP leaders had a bitter argument over the matter, and led to the resignation of Yorgbor from the CoP with immediate effect.