Capitol Hill, Monrovia – Six defendants, including three current lawmakers, and former Speaker Cllr. Fonati Koffa will stand trial for their alleged involvement in setting the Capitol Building’s Joint Chambers on fire after the Criminal Court “A” rejected their most recent attempt to have the case dismissed on technical grounds yesterday, September 24.
Cllr. Koffa and his co-defendants are charged with conspiracy, attempted murder, and arson for orchestrating the Capitol Building arson assault in December of last year. However, the case has been delayed several times due to arguments over technicalities.
According to the defense attorney’s most recent argument, six of the detained defendants were subjected to torture and sodomization in order to coerce them into confessing to their individual roles in the arson attack while they were in the National Security Agency holding cell.
The defense attorneys used the accusations to ask the court to remove the evidence, which is said to have been crucial to the prosecution’s case, from the indictment. Judge Roosevelt Willie, who turned down the defense lawyers’ request, stated that since the claim is based on medical examination and fact, the court is unable to judge the seriousness of the torture and sodomization allegations at the time.
Judge Willie stated that his court therefore mandated that AMI Expeditionary Healthcare perform a medical evaluation on the individuals concerned. According to the individuals, the evidence they submitted was obtained as a result of torture and sodomization by security officers during their detention and investigation.
AMI Expeditionary Healthcare then conducted a medical examination and submitted a report via Dr. Philip Zochonis Ireland, BSc, MD, MPH, MASI (Clinical Endocrinology), MACP, FWACP, and FLCPS, based on the claims of torture and sodomization. The AMI Expeditionary Healthcare Medical Center post-examination revealed shocking findings.
According to the forensic analysis presented in court, the six defendants in question claimed that they had never experienced sexual abuse in their genitalia or anal regions and that, as a result, no medical examination of these areas of their bodies should be performed.
The physician’s admission that the medical examination had “limitations and constraints” which he listed as (i) the amount of time that had passed between the alleged incidents and the examinations, which might have obscured or changed physical findings is another controversial issue brought up in the report. (ii) Revocations of consent by patients for some tests (particularly genital and anal inspections), and (iii) the basic limits of the diagnostic techniques that are now available in our environment.
“This information is imaginary as insinuated by them during their medical examination and therefore, it would be unnecessary to conduct any examination relating to sodomization,” Judge Willie said, despite the defense attorneys’ assertion that the evidence should be suppressed because they were sodomized.
The judge then declared that the defendants had not demonstrated that the evidence collected from them was the result of torture and sodomization.
In light of the Medical Report, Judge Willie stated that his Court honestly believes that the evidence should be presented to the Trial Jurors, who are the ones who are trying the facts and have the legal power to judge whether the defendants’ claims are true.
“All persons deprived of their liberty shall be treated with humanity and with respect for the inherent dignity of the human person,” according to Article 10(1) of the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights (ICCPR), which Willie also referenced.
The judge ruled that it is the State’s responsibility to guarantee the defendants’ rights are always upheld. In the end, Judge Willie ruled that “based on the issues as raised by the Defendants, the resistance thereto by the Prosecution, the laws cited herein and the arguments put forth by the Parties, the Motion to Suppress the Evidence is hereby denied, and this case is ordered proceeded forthwith.”
“The full trial in these proceedings is hereby assigned for Friday, September 26, 2025 at 10:00am prompt,” Judge Willie continued. The minutes of today’s meeting serve as a notice of assignment for all parties present.
Following the announcement of the defense request’s denial, there was allegedly chaos outside the courthouse as the six defendants’ relatives yelled at Judge Roosevelt Willie, calling him “a witch” and “evil.”
Credit: Abednego Davis
