Published: January 14, 2026
Monrovia — The National Elections Commission (NEC) has refused to receive and honor the order from the Commercial Court directing it to deposit more than US$104,000 into an escrow account for M-Tosh Prints Media, deepening concerns about NEC’s respect for the rule of law.
A Bill of Costs issued by the Commercial Court and seen by The Liberian Investigator instructs NEC to deposit a total of US$104,595 as part of a judgment arising from a long-running contractual dispute with M-Tosh. A court official says the commission has declined to sign for or acknowledge the order.
The directive flows from a December 31, 2025, ruling by Commercial Court Judge Eva Mappy, who made clear that while NEC has legal grounds to appeal the broader case to the Supreme Court, such an appeal does not excuse the commission from complying with the court’s judgment at this stage.
Under Liberian law governing the Commercial Court, an appeal does not automatically stay the enforcement of a judgment. Instead, the law requires the judgment amount to be placed in escrow as a condition precedent to perfecting an appeal.
“The judgment sum must be placed into an escrow account,” Judge Mappy ruled, ordering the court clerk to prepare and tax a bill of costs for approval by the parties and the court. That process has now been completed.
According to the Bill of Costs, the amount includes US$96,750 in judgment awarded to M-Tosh Prints Media, US$5,805 representing six percent annual interest, and US$1,935 in attorney’s fees calculated at two percent. Additional charges of US$5 and US$100 were assessed for taxes and filing fees, bringing the total to US$104,595.
The escrow deposit is separate from the larger US$877,000 NEC is alleged to owe M-Tosh under the disputed contract. Judge Mappy acknowledged in her ruling that NEC’s appeal concerning the larger sum “may have a legal ground,” but emphasized that this does not suspend the obligation to secure the judgment amount.
According an official of the Court, the head of NEC’s legal team, Cllr. Teage Jalloh, refused to accept and sign for the Bill of Costs. The action of the Commission has opened up yet more compelling concerns as to whether or not it cares about respect for the rule of law as a government that keeps counting honesty, integrity and respect for the rule of law as its tenets.
What would the Court do?
The Commission’s rejection of the bill of costs from the Court is a patterned action, according to sources close to the Court. One of the sources noted that a tougher decision must be executed in order to ensure that no one disobeys the Court and goes with impunity.
It can be recalled that in August 2025, sheriffs from the Commercial, on order from the Judge, locked the main gate of the National Elections Commission due to the Commission’s alleged failure to comply with the first ruling. When interviewed by journalists, Davidetta Browne Lansanah, Chairman of NEC assured that the legal team of the Commission could have looked into the case and advise the Commission. Since then, there is no proof that NEC has complied with the Court’s ruling to settle its obligation with the local vendor neither has there come to public limelight that the Commission proved anything on the contrary.
Legal observers say NEC’s refusal to comply places the commission in direct conflict with the authority of the Commercial Court and could expose it to further sanctions.
As of now, NEC has not publicly explained its refusal to accept or comply with the court’s order, raising questions about the enforcement of judicial decisions involving state institutions.
The matter now appears headed for further legal confrontation as M-Tosh seeks enforcement and NEC presses forward with its appeal to the Supreme Court.
Background of the case
The dispute dates back to 2019, when M-Tosh supplied materials to NEC for a legislative by-election. According to court records, the materials were delivered, used and acknowledged by the Commission. Yet payment never followed.
A recent audit by the General Auditing Commission listed M-Tosh among vendors eligible for domestic debt settlement. Acting on the audit findings, the Ministry of Finance and Development Planning wrote to NEC requesting verification and confirmation of the debt owed to M-Tosh, particularly since NEC itself had earlier requested that the ministry settle the obligation on its behalf.
In a letter dated Oct. 24, 2025, Finance Minister Augustine Kpehe Ngafuan asked NEC to confirm a claim of US$171,105 submitted by M-Tosh. The ministry verified US$150,000 as the principal amount owed by NEC, along with US$21,105 in court costs. However, the Finance Ministry informed NEC that there was no fiscal allotment in the 2025 budget to settle the debt centrally. It therefore recommended that NEC pay the vendor directly through its own operational budget.
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