Monrovia, Liberia – Cllr. Jonathan Fonati Koffa was indicted on eight charges by the Montserrado County Grand Jury on Wednesday, July 2, 2025, based on circumstantial evidence that indirectly connected him to the Capitol Building arson attack on December 18, 2024.
“THE GRAND JURORS AFORESAID, UPON THEIR OATH AFORESAID DO
PRESENT THAT THE HEREINABOVE NAMED DEFENDANTS AFORESAID, DO SAY
THAT THE CRIMES OF, CRIMINAL ATTEMPT TO COMMIT MURDER, CRIMINAL
MISCHIEF, CRIMINAL CONSPIRACY, CRIMINAL FACILITATION, CRIMINAL
SOLICITATION, RELEASE OF DESTRUCTIVE FORCES, RECKLESS BURNING OR
EXPLODING AND RECKLESSLY ENDANGERING ANOTHER PERSON, THE SAID
DEFENDANTS DID DO AND COMMIT CONTRARY TO THE FORM, FORCE AND
EFFECT OF THE STATUTORY LAWS OF THE REPUBLIC OF LIBERIA IN SUCH
CASES MADE AND PROVIDED AND AGAINST THE PEACE AND DIGNITY OF THE
SAID REPUBLIC.”
Legal experts have referred to the indictment that aims to prosecute the former Speaker as a political indictment, arguing that it is not based on legal grounds but rather has a political motive that is specifically intended to silence the opposition CDC.
In connection with what the government believes to be a concerted attack on the Capitol building in December 2024, former Speaker Koffa and his co-defendants are accused with a number of crimes, including attempted murder, conspiracy, arson, and other connected offenses.
Government lawyers have insinuated that the capitol Arson is link to the Legislative impasse involving the majority bloc and the minority – tiding to the Koffa quest to ensure he legally maintain the Speakership, therefore, asserts that Koffa could be the primary sponsor of the attack.
Concerns regarding the prosecution’s credibility and the case’s apparent political undertone are raised by the fact that the former Speaker’s indictment in the Capitol Building arson case is based solely on circumstantial links. Even though Koffa is charged with 63 counts, including attempted murder, conspiracy, and arson, the evidence connecting him to the fire on December 18, 2024, seems to be weak.
Without proving that Koffa himself made any orders or even knew of the conversation, the indictment mostly centers on a co-defendant’s purported order to visit his home following the fire and the participation of two of his employees in a chatroom that discussed erasing evidence.
Koffa is not on any recordings, did not show up at the scene, and is not identified in direct conversations before the assault, in contrast to other defendants in the case. He provided “support and facilitation,” according to the prosecution on many occasions, although they provide no specific illustration of what that help entailed. The indictment does not clearly or specifically assign any of the active involvement, knowledge, or assistance in promoting the offense that are necessary to establish conspiracy or facilitation under Liberian law.
The government’s insistence on including Koffa among the main suspects, according to political critics, is a calculated action motivated more by political rivalry than by sound legal reasoning. The fire occurred at a time when pro-Unity Party legislators were trying to remove the former Speaker. The Supreme Court ruled that the attacks were unlawful, and the Capitol was attacked. However, the indictment doesn’t prove that Koffa had any say in the act’s preparation or approval or that he stood to gain anything from it.
Additionally, according to the indictment, some of Koffa’s office employees took part in a chatroom where the erasure of evidence was discussed. However, there is no allegation that he participated in the conversation or authorized such behavior.
This type of guilt by association, according to legal experts, creates a risky precedent. One lawyer from Monrovia said, “You cannot prosecute a man because his staff were in a chatroom, or someone ran to his house without his knowledge,” cautioning that the prosecution runs the danger of compromising the judiciary’s credibility by pursuing such a weak case.
The case’s larger political context raises questions about the government’s intentions. The prosecution of former opposition leaders and the release of government sympathizers who had previously been charged, found guilty, and jailed for crimes like murder have become more common after the administration shift.
Former Chief Justice Cllr. Gloria Musu Scott was found guilty of criminal conspiracy, giving false statements to law enforcement, and murdering her niece on February 22, 2023. She was found guilty by the Criminal Court A jury in December 2023, and on January 9, 2024, Judge Roosevelt Willie sentenced her to life in prison.
However, the prosecution appealed the decision to the Supreme Court of Liberia at the start of the Boakai administration, and on August 28, 2024, the court formally acquitted her and her family members, citing circumstantial and insufficient evidence that did not meet the burden of proof.
Cllr. Musu Scott has returned to politics and public service since her release, closely aligning with the present administration under President Joseph Boakai. Her appointment by Boakai as Acting Chairperson of the National Oil Company of Liberia (NOCAL) in December 2024 provoked controversy; critics claim her preferential treatment is a result of political favoritism linked to her Unity Party membership. From the platform provided by her present position, she continues to speak out for moral leadership, addressing national challenges and calling for integrity across institutions.
Since both charges were based on circumstantial evidence, legal experts have pointed out the similarities between Cllr. Koffa and Cllr. Scott’s trials. They also assert that once the Supreme Court rules on a similar case, the court’s decision becomes a precedent that must be followed when drafting an indictment and other legal proceedings. The integrity of the Montserrado County Grand Jury is laid flat on the ground by this argument.
The High Court concluded that Cllr. Gloria Musu Scott was innocent as the evidence against her was circumstantial and did not establish a clear connection between her and the murderous act. The Grand Jury of Montserrado County has rely on the same evidence to indict former Speaker Koffa and some of his co-defendants.
Reported By: G. Bennie Bravo Johnson, I
