The Judge of the Monrovia City Court, Jomah Jallah, has denied prosecution’s request to declare the Political Leader of the Alternative National Congress (ANC), Alexander B. Cummings, a hostile witness.
A hostile witness is a witness who appears to be refusing to fully testify in support of the person who called them or testifies in a way that significantly differs from their pre-trial statement.
Prosecution lawyers in the case Republic of Liberia, by and thru the All Liberian Party (ALP) versus Alexander Cummings and others, headed by the Solicitor General, Cllr. Sayma Syrenius Cephus, had pleaded with the Court to declare Cummings a “hostile witness” to allow them place him on cross-examination. Their appeal came after the ANC Political Leader took the witness stand in court, denying the existence of the original copy of the Collaborating Political Parties (CPP) Framework Document.
However, Judge Jallah denied prosecution’s request, and emphasized that the defendant, Cummings, has been cooperating throughout the proceedings and providing facts in the matter. According to him, there is no legal ground to declare Cummings a hostile witness.
Judge Jallah’s denial of the prosecution request against Cummings could be seen as a twist in the legal drama, putting the state at an unforeseen position to build a concrete case against the defendant.
Liberian jurisprudence places the burden of proof on the accuser, with the defendant being perceived innocent until proven otherwise. However, a “hostile witness” permission would have permitted the prosecution to cross-examine the defendant and dig deeper into his closet, and the defendant would be under legal mandate to provide anything and everything that the prosecution would request.
Now, the prosecution is with the burden to prove that there exists a “May 19, 2020 Original Framework Document”, as Cummings has denied its existence.
Taking the witness stand, Cummings noted that there was no such thing as “Original Framework Document” of May 19, 2020, with the prosecution fumbling over the response and appealing that the judge declare him a hostile witness.
The entire case is centered around Cummings altering the “original” framework document, and if the prosecution cannot prove that there exists an “original framework document” then it could be argued that there is no case against Cummings, as the rest are trivial matters.