– Cllr. Gloria Musu Scott Leads in Monrovia Central Prison, But…
By: Jerromie S. Walters & G. Bennie Bravo Johnson
Even though her daughter is dead and gone forever, the Monrovia City Court ordered the arrest and jailing of the former Chief Justice of Liberia, Cllr. Gloria Musu Scott, on the accusation that she killed her daughter. But the family has put together a thirty (30) member legal team that includes the following: Cllr. Frances Johnson-Allison, Cllr. Kabineh Ja’nah, Cllr. T. Negbalee Warner, Cllr. Augustine Toe, Cllr. Moifee Kanneh, Cllr. Mark M. Marvey, Cllr. James Kumeh, Cllr. Jonathan Massaquoi, Cllr. Amara M. Sheriff, Cllr. James Laveli Supuhood, Cllr. Johnson Service, Cllr. Ade Wode Kerkuleh, Cllr. Milton Taylor, Cllr. Finley Karnga, Cllr. J. Aloysius Toe, Cllr. Richard J. Scott, Jr., Cllr. Jimmy Saah Bombo, Cllr. Kuku Y. Dorbor, Atty. N. Dickson Tamba, Atty. Adolphus S. Wade, Atty. Philomena Williams, Atty. J. Alcorolson Tamba, Atty. Earnest Jerome Dunbar, Atty. Samuel Koffi Hoods, Atty. George King, Atty. Facia B. Harris, Atty. Bowuolo Taylor-Kelley, Atty. Mmonbedyu N. Harrell, and Atty. Bevaye M. Mortee.
Months ago, the Family of former Chief Justice Gloria Musu Scott expressed that they observed from the proceedings of the reported murder case at her home a series of statements from or by some Government Officials and state actors being made in public as attempts to either compromise the atrocious crime committed against the family or turn the public against them.
Late Thursday, June 22, 2023, former Chief Justice Gloria Musu Scott was ordered arrested by the Monrovia City Court and later Imprisoned at the Monrovia Central Prison after her lawyers filed a bill to have her released and return on Friday, June 23, 2023.
Cllr. Gloria Musu-Scott, Gertrude Newton, Rebecca Y. Wisner, Alice Johnson, and others were brought before the Monrovia City Court, Temple of Justice Building, to answer to the charges of Murder, Criminal conspiracy, and False Reports to Law Enforcement Officials, based upon the oath and complaint of the Republic of Liberia by and through the Ministry of Justice.
But the team of lawyers representing the former chief justice prayed to the court to grant the former chief justice the bill of rights, stating that a person cannot be charged with a capital offense without an indictment from the grand jury.
The defense in the argument sighted 13.1 of the criminal procedure law of Liberia, which provides that a person in custody for the commission of a capital offense shall, before conviction, be entitled as a matter of right to be admitted to bail unless the proof is evident or the presumption is great that he is guilty of the offense. The defense, in furtherance, argued that the proof was not evidence and the presumption was not great.
Meanwhile, 13.1 continues by stating that in the hearing of an application for admission to bail made before indictment by a person in custody for the commission of a capital offense, the burden of showing that the proof is evident or the presumption is great that he is guilty of the offense is on the Republic.
It provides that after indictment for such an offense, the burden is on the defendant to show that the proof is not evident or the presumption is not great. After conviction for a capital offense, no person shall be continued at large on bail or be admitted to bail except in accordance with the provisions of paragraph 3 of this section.
The defense counsel in the argument continued by stating article 21 H of the 1986 constitution, which provides that “No person shall be held to answer for a capital or infamous crime except in cases of impeachment, cases arising in the Armed Forces, and petty offenses, unless upon indictment by the Grand Jury;”
At the same time, the prosecution prayed the court to dismiss the request of the defense, stating that the bill was prematurely filed by the defense and that there has been no effort to establish that the crime was not committed.
Simultaneously, on Wednesday, June 21, 2023, the Liberia National Police (LNP) formally charged Cllr. Gloria Musu Scott and three others with murder, criminal conspiracy, and making false statements to law enforcement officers in the reported murder case of her niece Charloe Musu, reported by the former Chief Justice, that occurred at her Brewerville residence in February of this year.
However, Col. Prince Mulbah, Deputy Inspector General of Police for Crimes Services, while addressing a special press conference at the Ministry of Information, Cultural Affairs, and Tourism on Wednesday, revealed that there was no evidence of intruders at Scott’s house on the day of her foster daughter’s death.
He narrated that the police, with the assistance of credible partners, had conducted the investigation impartially. The police disclosed that Cllr. Scott’s house was heavily guarded with iron doors and bars, making it unlikely for intruders to gain access.
Conspicuously, some have said this somehow concurs with the thoughts of the Musu family months ago, when they informed the public through a press release that after the commission of the crime, there were negative utterances from and by top government officials and national actors geared towards compromising the murder and assault on the family.
“The family is very concerned that these public statements and actions of some top government officials and state actors, which are preemptive and conclusive, have the propensity to undermine and alter the actual result of the investigation. These clearly give the Musu Family the impression that this investigation will have a desired and already crafted political outcome”, they noted.
Chronologically highlighting the different instances, the family recorded that, “On Monday, February 27, 2023, Police Inspector General Patrick Sudue, when he appeared before the Honorable Liberian Senate, informed the august body that the bereaved family, who are also victims of the attack that reported the case to the Police, have refused to cooperate with the Police”.
In addition to this, they noted that “On Thursday, March 2, 2023, the Chairman of the ruling Coalition for Democratic Change (CDC), Mulbah K. Morlu, had a Press Conference at the CDC Headquarters in Sinkor immediately after the Liberian Women Sit-in Action in protest at the Seat of the Legislature on Capitol Hill against the murder and assault against the Musu family and said that Charloe Musu was not the biological daughter of Cllr. Musu-Scott and was therefore going to Maryland to find the biological parents of the late Charloe Musu. The CDC Chairman also said that Charloe was killed for ritualistic purposes and further called for an autopsy to be conducted on the remains of Charloe Musu”.
Also, the family stated that on Friday morning, March 3, 2023, Deputy Inspector General of Police for Crime Services, Col. Prince B. Mulbah, appearing on the ELBC MICAT Half Hour, said, “Any information I am giving here must be taken very seriously because I sit as the head of Criminal Investigation at the Police… It will be a shock to people. We are not surprised; it is such a case that will be busted. It is a science; we are doing the calculations”
This thought of the family was also prompted when there were reports that they weren’t cooperating with the LNP investigators, something they disagreed with at the time.
“We reiterate that on Thursday, February 23, 2023, the day immediately following the incident, the Police IG and other officials, including the Spokesman, went to the 16th Residence of Cllr. Gloria M. Musu-Scott and spoke with her.
Following that interaction, they said, “the Police issued an initial statement by and through the Police Spokesman, Moses Carter, insinuating that the assassin might have been a domestic worker only because there had been hired electricians working in the house on that fateful day, even though there were two initial attacks on the 8th and 9th of February 2023, two nights in a row, when no hired contractors had been at the Brewerville residence, which by the way were reported to the Police”.
These and several other instances were referenced as a means of refuting the police’s claim that they weren’t cooperating.
Moreover, the Musu family also pointed out that, considering the public comments and actions of top government officials and state actors, including the Chairman of the ruling coalition, the police were acting in bad faith and not in the spirit and intent of taking into consideration the pain and hardship being undergone by the Musu family by the unknown murderer.
Despite the police report, it was earlier made known that following the murder of Charloe Musu, a prospective graduate of Starz University College, the Police at the Iron Gate Check Point were informed of the incident, following which they (the police) arrived on the scene later and took charge of the premises of Cllr. Scott in Lower Virginia.
Arguably, due to their curiosity, they spotted an unorthodox attempt by the police and officials of the ruling Coalition for Democratic Change (CDC), which showed the trend of a conspiracy theory intended to make the victims perpetrators of the crime.
As the police report clearly reveals the Musu family’s curiosity, pundits believe it is worrisome for the family hereafter, as it might also reflect at the Court.
