The Inquirer (Monrovia)
Morrison O. G. Sayon
14 February 2008
The much-talked about bribery case at the House of Representatives has taken a dramatic turn with one of the accused, Margibi County Representative, Saah Richard Gbolie, accusing some members of the Judicial Committee of having close link with former Speaker, Edwin M. Snowe.
At the second sitting of the bribery case yesterday, which took place in the William R. Tolbert Joint Chamber of the House of Representatives, the four representatives accused of receiving bribe to remove Mr. Snowe as Speaker took the witness stand separately but denied ever receiving money to remove the former speaker from office.
In his testimony, Margibi County Representative, Saah Gbolie, expressed serious reservation over the neutrality of the House Judicial Committee and urged members of the panel not to be bias in their investigation.
Rep. Gbolie said there are some individuals on the probe committee who still have close link with Rep. Snowe. He then warned that any attempt to by-pass justice in the case will be met with stiff resistance as that person will be identified and removed from the probe committee.
On the allegation, Rep. Gbolie denied ever signing any document that linked him to taking bribe to remove Mr. Snowe. He then challenged Rep. Snowe to produce substantial evidence that would directly link him to the bribery allegation. He said Mr. Snowe has made similar allegation against some prominent Liberians sometime ago and later on apologized to those individuals for lying on them.
Samuel Bondo, the man believed to be the central figure in the bribery case has also denied receiving US$5,000 to remove the former Speaker. He has however, expressed regret over his participation in the scenario.
The Bong County lawmaker said he was used by Mr. Snowe to lie on his colleague so as to destroy the resolution that was signed by some members of that august body to remove the former Speaker. Rep. Bondo added, "Snowe asked me to destroy the resolution by attaching bribery allegation to it. He wanted to use me because according to him, I have defended him before."
Rep. Bondo who could not confirm nor deny signing the press release that carried his alleged signature noted that the document was prepared by Mr. Snowe's former Chief of office Staff and Cllr. T.C. Gould at his (Snowe) residence in Paynesville.
"During that time I was in a Lion's Den and had no time to peruse the document and I was surrounded by several of Snowe's men. I was far from my family and could not put up any resistance and that 's how I got involved," Rep. Bondo pointed out.
Rep. Bondo said Mr. Snowe must be held responsible for the disgrace that is over the House. He said Snowe's allegation is a political gimmick and must therefore be made to account for his action. "It was in this same Chamber that Mr. Snowe and Rep. Wolokollie stood before and asked for forgiveness and so I regret my involvement in this bribery issue and ask for forgiveness from my colleague," the Bong County Representative noted.
Montserrado County Representative, Kettehkumueh though pleaded not guilty, said there was nothing in the letter addressed to him by the Chief Clerk of the House stating that there was an evidence of Compact Discs containing his voice mentioned in the letter. He said he would only respond when these things are made clear to him.
Grand Gedeh County Representative, Rufus Gbaieor, refused to respond to the allegation on ground that until copies of the documents and compact Discs that linked him to the case are made available to him.
Meanwhile, persistent pleas by Rep. Snowe to play his Compact Discs that allegedly contained the voices of the accused have been denied for the second time by the Probe Committee. The Chairman of the Committee, Rep. Armah Sanor said it would be unfair for the accused to allow the tape play during the proceedings.
He then called on Mr. Snowe to produce several copies of the Discs to be distributed among the accused, something Mr. Snowe has vowed not to do since he was again denied from playing the tape.
At the same time, the National Director of the Liberia Democracy Watch (LDI), Mr. Dan Sayee, has questioned the credibility of the Judicial Committee that is probing the bribery allegation. Mr. Sayee said the committee lacks the moral credential and is not independent to probe the bribery case.
He said the Judicial Committee is not credible and that the investigation will not produce any positive result. Mr. Sayee then called for the dissolution of the probe committee to bring on board independent bodies to spearhead the proceedings.
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