The Supreme Court has reserved judgment in a high-profile petition filed by former Justice Minister and Attorney General Cllr. Frank Musah Dean, who is challenging a ruling by Judge Boima Kontoe of the Civil Law Court ordering his arrest in connection with the controversial 53.34-carat diamond case.
The decision by the five-member Supreme Court bench, headed by Chief Justice Yamie Quiqui Gbeisay, followed Monday's heated arguments from lawyers representing both sides. The court took the matter under advisement after hearing from Cllr. Dean's legal team and the respondents, saying judgment would be rendered at a later date.
The dispute stems from a 2023 incident involving the discovery of a 53.34-carat rough diamond in Smith Town, Gbarma Mining District #2, Gbarpolu County. The gem became the center of competing ownership claims, with local miners T. David Sluward and Abraham Kamara--represented by former Solicitor General Cllr. Sayma Syrenius Cephus--asserting ownership, while the government argued that the mining license for the claim had expired, thereby transferring rights to the state under Section 9.9 of the New Minerals and Mining Law of 2000.
In 2024, the Supreme Court ruled in favor of Sluward and Kamara, recognizing them as the legitimate owners of the diamond. Following that decision, the Court instructed Judge Boima Kontoe to enforce its judgment.
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But Judge Kontoe's enforcement order went beyond a simple transfer of property: it directed that the former Justice Minister, former Mines and Energy Minister Gesler Murray, former Assistant Minister of Mines Emmanuel T.T. Swen, Diamond Dealers Association President Mustapha Tounkara, Ishaka Conneh (alias "Bakut"), and appraiser Korvah Baysah were arrested and jailed at the Monrovia Central Prison.
"You are hereby commanded to arrest the living bodies of the named respondents in the case," Judge Kontoe's directive stated, adding that if arrested after working hours, they should be detained at the nearest police station until brought before the court to show cause why they should not be held in contempt for failing to comply with the judgment.
Dean's Legal Argument
In his petition, Cllr. Dean strongly objected to being named among those to be arrested, insisting that neither his name nor the Ministry of Justice appeared anywhere in the original judgment being enforced.
"The judgment, which is being enforced by Judge Kontoe names the Minister of Mines and Energy, his Deputies and Assistant Ministers, Directors, and all other persons acting under their authority," Dean's filing stated. "At no place is my name mentioned, nor is the Ministry of Justice mentioned."
Dean is therefore asking the Supreme Court to cite Judge Kontoe, along with T. David Sluward and Abraham Kamara, to appear before it to show cause why they should not themselves be held in contempt of court for what he describes as an irregular and deliberate misapplication of the Supreme Court's mandate.
He emphasized that the Ministry of Justice's involvement in the matter was limited to offering a legal opinion after reviewing documents provided by the Ministry of Mines and Energy, which indicated that the diamond was discovered on an expired claim. "No further opinion was issued by the Ministry of Justice and no further action was taken by the Ministry of Justice," Dean said in his brief.
Diamond Dispute and Government Role
Dean's argument draws heavily on a January 3, 2023 press release issued by the Ministry of Mines and Energy, which detailed how the diamond was disposed of. According to that statement, the Dealer/Exporter paid US$80,146.78 to the Government of Liberia, comprising US$30,116.42 in royalty tax and a US$50,000 fine. The release also noted that the fine was imposed because the diamond had been purchased from a mining claim with expired documentation.
The former minister contends that this record demonstrates that the Ministry of Justice played no administrative or financial role in the diamond's sale or distribution and that its only contribution was a legal interpretation that the claim had expired and the diamond should revert to the government. He insists that the enforcement of the judgment against him personally is "unjustifiable, procedurally defective, and contemptuous of the Supreme Court's own mandate."
Dean also reminded the court that in April 2023, amid rising tensions in Gbarpolu County over ownership of the diamond, the government constituted a Joint Security Board of Inquiry comprising representatives from the Ministry of Justice, Ministry of Mines and Energy, Executive Protection Service (EPS), Armed Forces of Liberia (AFL), and National Security Agency (NSA).
The Board, according to Dean, concluded that the diamond was indeed discovered in Smith Town on a claim whose license had expired nearly a year earlier, undermining private ownership claims.
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The Ministry of Mines and Energy's final report stated: "The license expired on May 25, 2022, but the licensee made a payment on April 28, 2023--seven days after the diamond was found--because they wanted to claim the diamond. Even at that, the payment cannot be for the period the diamond was found."
Legal and Political Implications
The case raises significant questions about judicial enforcement, ministerial accountability, and the limits of contempt jurisdiction in Liberia's courts. Legal observers say the Supreme Court's pending judgment could clarify whether executive officials can be held personally liable for institutional decisions made in their official capacity.
If the Court rules in Dean's favor, it could set a precedent restricting lower courts from extending enforcement actions to individuals not explicitly named in judicial mandates. Conversely, if it upholds Judge Kontoe's order, it may signal a broad interpretation of accountability, particularly in cases involving state assets.
As the Supreme Court deliberates, the 53.34-carat diamond saga--a case intertwining natural resource governance, ministerial responsibility, and judicial power--remains one of the most legally complex and politically sensitive issues in Liberia's recent history.
