Monrovia — In the high-profile arson and attempted murder case related to the Capitol Building, involving former House Speaker Cllr. Jonathan Fonati Koffa and colleagues versus the Government of Liberia, Criminal Court 'A' Judge Roosevelt Z. Willie rejected attempts by state prosecutors to disqualify a seated juror based on being politically biased in favor of one of the defendants.
On the fifteenth day of the November Term of Court, state prosecutors pressed for the removal of Juror J30-9819, presenting photographs allegedly depicting her at a political campaign event for defendant Abu Kamara.
The state lawyers submitted two sheets of photographs, said to have been sourced from social media, showing women believed to be CDC partisans participating in a campaign event.
The Prosecution alleged that one of the women was the sitting juror, arguing that her continued service threatened the fairness of the proceedings.
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But defense lawyers challenged this move, describing the photographs as unauthenticated and lacking any credible link to the juror.
They emphasized that the evidence was not supported by witness testimony and that, under the Constitution, political affiliation is protected. The defense urged the Court to dismiss the prosecution's application.
After entertaining arguments from both sides, Judge Willie asked the juror to review the photographs and respond directly.
The juror denied being in the images, explaining that the individual identified by the prosecution was her mother.
Upon the juror's response, Judge Willie found the prosecution had not authenticated the photographs nor established a connection between the juror and the campaign event.
He also noted that modern digital technology makes image manipulation easy, and the photos did not match the juror's official records.
Consequently, the Court concluded there was no proven bias or conflict and denied the prosecution's request to remove the juror.
Following the ruling, the Court continued with proceedings, formally swearing in the jury and appointing Dickson T. Yarsiah, Jr. as Foreman and Audray Clinton as Secretary. The indictment was read without objection, and the trial was scheduled to resume on Monday, December 1, 2025, at 9:15 a.m.
To safeguard the integrity of the judicial process, the Court issued contempt writs against two bloggers--Satiah A. Satiah and Benjamin Junior. Satiah was accused of seeking favors from the Jury Management office, while Junior published allegations about partisan jury selection. Both were ordered to appear before the Court on Friday, November 28, 2025.
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With jurors now sworn and the indictment formally placed before them, the Capitol arson trial moves forward amid heightened scrutiny, firm objections from the State, and the Court's assertive stance on maintaining control of the proceedings. -Edited by Othello B. Garblah.
