Monrovia, Liberia – The former Minister of Finance Samuel D. Tweah Jr. through his defense team has rejected claims by the Solicitor General Cllr. Augustine C. Fayiah that the defendants in the ongoing US$6.2 million case confessed to committing a crime.
On Thursday, March 12, 2026, following the opening of the alleged corruption case at Criminal Court ‘C’, Cllr. Arthur Johnson told court reporters that the Solicitor General’s earlier claim that the defendants acknowledged misconduct was “not true” and distorted the facts.
According to the him, no defendant has confessed to any criminal offense. Cllr. Johnson said, “There is a difference between a confession to criminality and making a statement explaining an action,” the defense counsel said.
Tweah lead lawyer told court reporters that a confession means admitting to the crimes listed in the indictment. That is not the case here. Additionally, he clarified that Section 4D.2 of Liberia’s Public Finance Law, which grants the Finance Minister statutory authority to authorize payments that are approved within the national budget or suggested by branches of government, was the basis for the former Minister of Finance’s actions.
Additionally, Cllr. Johnson argued that the payments in question were approved at the level of the National Security Council, which was presided over by then-President George Manneh Weah, and carried out by the correct administrative agents following authorization through the necessary government channels.
“These were statutory responsibilities performed by the Minister of Finance. They were actions related to national security and stability during the election period,” he added.
The defence attorney, however, went on to denounce the Solicitor General’s earlier comments, characterising them as an effort to sway public opinion and prospective jurors. “What we saw was an attempt at trial by television and trial by Facebook. The goal was to create the perception that the defendants had confessed to a crime,” he narrated.
Cllr. Johnson argued that if a confession had truly been made, the court would not be in the process of selecting jurors. “If there had been a confession, we would not be selecting jurors today; we would be discussing sentencing,” he said.
The defense maintained that no criminal act was committed and reiterated that the decisions made by the defendants were lawful actions taken in the interest of national security and the stability of Liberia during the election period.
Reported by: Prince Saah
