Tweah Alleges Executive Interference in Court Case, Rejects Possible Retrial
Former Finance Minister claims Vice President influenced judge ahead of ruling; government yet to respond.
Former Finance Minister Samuel D. Tweah has accused senior officials of the Boakai administration of attempting to influence the judiciary ahead of a crucial court ruling in his criminal case, alleging political interference and warning that he will reject any effort to overturn his acquittal.
In a statement published Monday on his Facebook page, Tweah claimed that Vice President Jeremiah Kpan Koung instructed Criminal Court “C” Judge Ousmane Feika to set aside the jury’s verdict that acquitted him by citing what he described as a “bogus and spurious” allegation of jury misconduct.
Tweah insisted there is no evidence linking him or his legal team to any form of jury misconduct and maintained that the verdict reached by the jury should remain legally binding.
The former finance minister further alleged that divisions existed within the government over whether to challenge the jury’s decision. According to him, some senior government officials and members of the judiciary opposed overturning the verdict, arguing that such a move would undermine judicial independence and weaken the rule of law.
Tweah also claimed he received intelligence indicating that the government’s final position on the matter was communicated to Judge Feika after internal consultations and a national security assessment.
Maintaining that the jury had already declared him not guilty, Tweah argued that the court’s only lawful course of action is to issue his certificate of acquittal. He warned that he would not submit to what he described as a politically motivated retrial should the acquittal be overturned.
The former minister further accused the government of pursuing political persecution and attempting to manipulate the judicial process for electoral advantage. He cautioned that Liberia’s democratic gains could be threatened by political interference in the courts and stressed that the rule of law must take precedence over partisan interests.
Declaring himself “a free man” based on the jury’s verdict, Tweah vowed to resist what he called any attempt to violate his constitutional rights.
As of press time, the Office of the Vice President and the Liberian government had not publicly responded to Tweah’s allegations. The judiciary has also not issued any statement addressing the claims.
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