Monrovia — The Liberia Medical and Dental Association (LMDA), has condemned the guilty verdict by one of the Magistrates from the Paynesville Magisterial Court against Doctor Moses Mbayo and his wife, Bettie Johnson-Mbayo who is a Liberian Journalist.
Mr. Mbayo was found guilty of 'felonious restraint' while Mrs. Mbayo was found guilty of disorderly conduct.
Mr. Mbayo was then sentenced to 90-day imprisonment while his wife was sentenced to one-month imprisonment in an ongoing case brought against them by Bong County District #3 Representative, J. Marvin Cole.
But in a press statement that was signed by its president, Albertha Clarke-Kollie, the LMDA stated that they were surprised and dismayed at the guilty verdict which was passed despite the fact that the prosecution witnesses' testimonies were impossible to reconcile as noticed during the trial.
Accordingly, the LMDA said, the verdict implies that there are different rules that apply to the rich and powerful and that their rights are different from the rest of the ordinary citizens as they are exempted from conforming to the law.
"We had hoped that the court would have heralded the indication that people of privilege can no more break the law without consequence and the Representative Marvin Cole's privilege does not extend to violence as we witnessed in the current case and most disappointingly in the Chambers of the house Representative with his colleagues," the release noted.
"We as the professional body of doctors strongly believe that the court's action to sentence these innocent and law-abiding professionals to prison, further humiliates them after being taken advantage of by the Representative. This experience further validates the popular claim in Liberia that there is no justice for the poor and that politicians are exempted from the justice system because it favors them."
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The LMDA expressed that as doctors, they have refused to be disrespected and assaulted by people they sacrifice to serve especially, to be abused by politicians who take the law into their own hands, and thereby go at any length to influence the system in their favor.
The LMDA reaffirmed its support for Dr. Mbayo and stressed that they will go to any length to ensure that true justice is dispensed in this case.
LMDA further noted as Dr. Mbayo's legal defense team takes the next requisite actions, the doctors are going to completely get involved in every necessary step to demand justice no matter the consequences.
"We will not hesitate to take an extreme approach in this matter to ensure justice and to send a caveat that at no point should doctors as law-abiding citizens and professionals are abused in any matter," the release stated.
"We will defend our colleague to the end knowing that he was physically and emotionally abused by Representative Cole who has been using his political influence to his advantage since this incidence occurred."
