Published: September 18, 2026
MONROVIA – Former Vice President Jewel Howard-Taylor is asking Criminal Court ‘C’ to free her on her own recognizance. Her lawyers argue that the 2023 drug law the state relies on to deny her bail did not exist when the alleged offenses occurred.
By Melvin Jackson
The argument, in a Motion to Admit to Bail obtained by The Liberian Investigator, could decide whether Howard-Taylor can be released on bond at all. The Controlled Drugs and Substances Act of 2023 classifies certain first-degree drug offenses as grave and non-bailable. The defense wants Judge Ousman F. Feika to apply an earlier law instead.
“Movant cannot lawfully be charged under statutes that did not exist, nor may she be subjected to prosecution retroactively under the new Act,” the lawyers wrote.
The motion says every allegation in the writ of arrest concerns 2021 and 2022. According to the defense, the writ alleges three things:
- that Sheik Bashiru Kante introduced Taras Zadereiko and Mihovil Vrovac to Howard-Taylor in early 2022;
- that a meeting took place that year at her Congo Town residence;
- that a trip to Dubai and related financial transactions occurred in 2022.
The 2023 act was printed into handbill on July 19, 2023, the motion says, more than a year later.
The lawyers call the state’s position that the charges are non-bailable “unsound in law and contrary to established constitutional principles.” They cite Article 21(a) of the Constitution, which bars subjecting anyone to a law or punishment not in effect when an offense was committed.
The motion says the state relies on Sections 14.83 and 14.84 of the 2023 act, which cover unlicensed importation and exportation of controlled drugs and substances. It argues that the writ “does not, in any respect, satisfy the requirements of law or establish any of the offenses charged.” Citing a Feb. 18, 2025, Supreme Court decision, Republic of Liberia v. James Kollie et al., the defense says bail must be granted under Article 21(d)(i) because “proof is not evident and presumption is not great.”
In the alternative, the lawyers argue that any non-bailable grading must rest on a grand jury indictment. It cannot rest on a magistrate’s writ of arrest, they say. The motion states that no indictment has been returned. Until one is, the lawyers wrote, the charge sheet “remains a mere administrative accusation, not a finding.”
The defense asks Feika to rule that the Controlled Drugs and Substances Act of 2014 governs the grading and bailability of the offenses. It asks him to release Howard-Taylor on personal recognizance or “fix a non-excessive amount of bail.” The motion says the 2014 act “contains no non-bailable or grave-offense classification.”
The motion does not quote the 2014 act. The earlier provisions it does quote come from the Public Health Law, cited through a 2009 case, Otang Okrasi et al. v. RL. Those provisions classify the unlawful sale of a narcotic drug, and possession with intent to sell, as first-degree felonies. The defense nonetheless argues that the law in force in 2021 and 2022 “did not grade the offenses charged as un-bailable.”
According to the motion’s caption, Howard-Taylor faces 10 charges:
- importation of controlled drugs
- unlicensed exportation of controlled drugs and substances
- unlicensed sales, trading in transit and transportation of a controlled substance
- abuse of office
- illicit trafficking
- criminal conspiracy
- criminal facilitation
- criminal solicitation
- money laundering
- aiding consummation of crime
The motion says a joint security team led by the Liberia National Police arrested Howard-Taylor without a warrant on Aug. 19 at Roberts International Airport. She was preparing to fly to Ghana for a women’s leadership conference. It says she fell gravely ill in custody and was taken to GIMS Hospital. According to the motion, she was then removed “without any medical advice or discharge from attending physicians” and brought before the Monrovia City Court on Aug. 25. There, a writ of arrest was served and she was committed to the Monrovia Central Prison.
On Sept. 2, the defense sought compassionate bail before Criminal Court ‘C’. The state countered with a bill of information arguing that she had sought relief before the Monrovia City Court, which lacked jurisdiction. Feika consolidated the filings and on Sept. 4 granted her compassionate home detention, the motion says. The defense says her health continues to deteriorate. It argues bail is “essential to enable her to continue receiving necessary medical care.”
The bail motion follows the defense’s Sept. 7 withdrawal of its request for a preliminary examination at the Monrovia City Court. The lawyers told Stipendiary Magistrate L. Ben Barco they no longer needed the examination. Barco granted the application and ordered the record forwarded for further proceedings. The withdrawal came after testimony about alleged communications and an audio recording had become a point of dispute. The defense has given no reason beyond saying the examination was unnecessary.
The motion describes Howard-Taylor, a former Bong County senator and vice president from 2018 to 2024, as “a Liberian citizen of the highest public standing.” It says she has no criminal record and “has no intention of fleeing.”
Nine lawyers are listed on the motion, led by Cllrs. Kabineh M. J’aneh, J. Lavali Supuwood and Finley Y. Karngar.
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