The Press Union of Liberia (PUL) has acknowledged receipt of Magistrate Jumah Jallah’s complaint filed against the management of FrontPage Africa newspaper.
According to a letter in the possession of the Hot Pepper, PUL President, Charles Cuffey, Jr., wrote on January 13, 2022 in response to Judge Jumah Jallah, Stipendiary Magistrate, Monrovia City Court, Temple of Justice.
The letter indicated that, “The Press Union of Liberia (PUL) is in receipt of your letter of complaint, against Front Page Africa Newspaper for allegedly, damaging your hard earned character with the intent to injure your hard-earned reputations.”
PUL President, Cuffey further stated in his communication that, “Accordingly, we assure you of our timely intervention through a letter of invitation for a transparent investigation and an amicable resolution of the matter”.
On Thursday, January 13, 2022, Magistrate Jallah filed a complaint to the Press Union of Liberia (PUL), indicating that FPA published a “misleading” and “false story”, intended to damage his hard earned character, reputation, integrity and independence in the judiciary.
The letter of complaint to the PUL further indicated, “The FrontPage Africa Newspaper is said to have based the purported publication from call logs, which it claims to possess”.
“I hereby reject and categorically deny the publication as nothing less than blackmail and further maintain that at no time have I ever communicated with any money-launderer, let alone Patrick Wahi Herman, and therefore I challenge the newspaper to prove its allegations”
It can be recalled that the FPA, in its Thursday, January 13, 2022 edition published a story, with a headline, “Solicitor General, Judge Talking with Criminal”. The publication claimed that documents seen by FPA showed that the Solicitor General, who is supposed to try those indicted in connection to a major fraud and money laundering case, on twenty-three occasions placed and received phone calls from Patrick Wahi Heermann, who is believed to be a major suspect in the scandal.
The FPA said those calls were placed between December 2021 and January 5, 2022.
“For Judge Jumah Jallah ,FrontPage Africa established that there were 115 incoming and out-going calls between him and Co-Defendant Patrick Wiahi Hermann between December 2021 and January 5, 2022,” the FPA publication noted.
The publication further said, “Judge Jallah could not be reached for comments but Solicitor General Cephus told FrontPage Africa that, as a lawyer of his stature he could not provide a response to why the calls placed and received to Patrick until FPA shared with him documents in its possession.”