Published: July 31, 2026
MONROVIA — Fifteen jurors who acquitted former Finance Minister Samuel Tweah and his co-defendants of corruption would be barred from leaving Liberia while prosecutors investigate them for jury tampering, under a petition the Ministry of Justice has filed at Criminal Court ‘C’.
The petition asks Assigned Circuit Judge Ousman F. Feika to issue a writ of ne exeat republica, an order confining a person to the jurisdiction, against all 15. Prosecutors said the restriction is necessary to keep the jurors in the country until investigators complete their work.
“The purpose of the Writ is to prevent the defendants from leaving the bailiwick of Liberia pending the conclusion of this investigation,” the ministry said in the filing, adding that the order would ensure the jurors “do not evade the prosecution of this matter.”
The application, signed by Cllr. Sumo Kutu-Akoi, chairman of the ministry’s Special Investigation Committee, names Jamesetta K. W. Higgins, Patricia Neewhord, Sando Mulbah, Lucy T. Menyongai, Cynthia Tarplah, Albertine D. Bai, Siah J. Tadapolie, Mamu Anderson, Arnold Vincent, Joeviria Pinky Bai, Catherine S. Quawah, Harriet J. Togba, Maximum I. Dillion, George K. Dennis and Saah Jonathan Bundoo. All 15 are subjects of an investigation into alleged misconduct and tampering in the Financial Intelligence Agency corruption case.
The petition follows Feika’s July 22 ruling setting aside the jury’s acquittal after he concluded that the integrity of the trial had been compromised. The court declared a mistrial and referred all 15 jurors to the Ministry of Justice for criminal investigation and possible prosecution.
Solicitor General Cllr. Augustine C. Fayiah has since constituted a five-member Special Investigation Committee, which he said in a July 29 appointment letter would conduct a professional and impartial inquiry. The committee is chaired by Kutu-Akoi and includes Atty. Prince Korvah as secretary and Cllr. Joel E. Theoway, Divine K. Togbah and Cllr. Elisha Forekeyor as members. It has one month to submit a final report to the solicitor general.
The travel request covers jurors the government released from detention after the referral, when authorities treated them as cooperating in the inquiry. Naming all 15 in the petition indicates that every panel member remains under investigation until the ministry decides whether to file charges.
The committee’s findings will determine whether any of the jurors face prosecution in one of the country’s most significant corruption trials in recent years.
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