Monrovia, Liberia – The Supreme Court of Liberia cleared former Justice Minister and Attorney General Cllr. Frank Musa Dean of any wrongdoing in the high-profile 53.34-carat diamond dispute worth US$11.5 million. Since then, he has fiercely opposed what he calls the dangerous stigmatization of public employees.
Dean warned Liberians not to assume that all public personnel are corrupt, stating, “Stop the generalization,” following the Court’s declaration that his imprisonment was unlawful and procedurally defective. It is getting more and more criminal to serve in government.
The Supreme Court declared that the arrest warrant issued by the Civil Law Court was illegal, citing the fact that Dean solely acted in his official role as Attorney General and that the original decision on the disputed diamond never identified, cited, or found him guilty. “Not all public servants are dishonest.” According to Dean, good people will eventually decline to serve, creating space for dishonest and disloyal people.
The Supreme Court declared in Chief Justice Yamie Quiqui Gbeisay’s sharply worded ruling that Judge Boima Kontoe had overstepped jurisdiction by ordering the arrest and imprisonment of former officials who were not involved in the initial case.
The Court made it clear that its mandate did not call for the imprisonment of former officials; rather, it only asked the Government of Liberia, acting through the Ministry of Mines and Energy, to replace the diamond or its monetary equivalent.
Chief Justice Gbeisay stressed that courts must firmly limit enforcement to the boundaries of the judgment itself, stating, “Nowhere in the judgment or mandate of this Court was Cllr. Dean personally named or held liable.”
But Dean, former Mines and Energy Minister Gesler Murray, former Assistant Minister Emmanuel T.T. Swen, President of the Diamond Dealers Association Mustapha Tounkara, appraiser Korvah Baysah, and Ishaka Conneh, also known as “Bakut,” were all arrested and imprisoned as a result of Judge Kontoe’s enforcement order.
The Civil Law Court can now only pursue legal action against appropriate parties after the Supreme Court declared that such efforts were legally unsustainable. Speaking, Dean insisted that the Ministry of Justice had no financial or administrative involvement in the diamond’s procedure. He petitioned the Supreme Court to summon Judge Kontoe and the private claimants for contempt.
He said his involvement was limited to issuing a legal opinion based on documents from the Ministry of Mines and Energy indicating that the diamond was discovered on a mining claim that had expired. “My name does not appear anywhere in the judgment being enforced. The Ministry of Justice was not a party to the action,” Dean argued in his petition.
Dean said despite facing attacks from both inside and outside government, he remained committed to the rule of law, including fairly presiding over the nation’s recent elections without major security incidents. “Too many Liberians are seething with anger, envy, and hate,” Dean said. “Cultivate positive energy and stop tearing others down.”
It can be recall, the controversy dates back to 2023, when a 53.34-carat rough diamond was discovered in Smith Town, Gbarma Mining District #2, Gbarpolu County, sparking competing ownership claims. Former Solicitor General Cllr. Sayma Syrenius Cephus supported local miners T. David Sluward and Abraham Kamara in their ownership claims. The government retorted that, in accordance with Section 9.9 of the Minerals and Mining Law of 2000, state ownership had taken effect since the mining license had expired.
The Supreme Court found in favor of the miners in 2024 and mandated that its ruling be enforced; this order eventually became the focal point of the ongoing legal dispute.
Reported by: Prince Saah
