Liberia: FrontPage Africa's Uncovers Justice Ministry Grants 'Compassionate Leave' to Convicted Former Chief Justice Gloria Musu Scott - FrontPageAfrica

Source: Front Page Africa
Author: Gerald C. Koinyeneh

MONROVIA - FrontPage Africa has reliably gathered that the Ministry of Justice has granted compassionate leave to convicted former Chief Justice Gloria Musu Scott.

By Gerald C. Koinyeneh - [email protected]

Justice Musu Scott, 70, along with three female relatives, was sentenced to life in prison for the brutal murder of her niece, Charloe Musu. The conviction was delivered by Judge Roosevelt Willie of Criminal Court A, following a jury's decision which found Musu Scott guilty of orchestrating the intentional and malicious infliction of severe bodily injuries on her 29-year-old niece last June. The victim sustained wounds to her chest, right hand, left thigh, and left armpit, inflicted with a sharp instrument believed to be a knife.

Musu Scott's legal team, led by lawyer Augustine Fayiah, has since filed an appeal to the Supreme Court. However, Justice Musu Scott and her relatives are currently held at the Monrovia Central Prison awaiting the Supreme Court to hear the appeal case.

Documents seen by FrontPage Africa show that Justice Scott requested permission to visit her home, which was reportedly burglarized. In a series of communications between the Director of Prisons, S. Sainleseh Kwaidah, and officials at the Ministry of Justice, FPA gathered that Musu Scott's request was considered compassionate leave and granted by the ministry.

It is not clear when Justice Musu Scott made the request. However, in one of the communications obtained by FrontPage Africa, dated May 20, 2024, Sainleseh Kwaidah, Director of Prisons at the Bureau of Corrections and Rehabilitation, informed Cllr. Alhaji Swaliho A. Sessay, County Attorney of Montserrado County, that the request was granted.

"The communication ... raises the concern for Inmate [Gloria] Musu Scott to be provided an escorted visit to make an appropriate inventory of losses and damage done to her home by intruders," Kwaidah said. "In this regard, the office of the Director of Prisons hereby considers the communication as a request for compassionate leave by Inmate Gloria Musu Scott, jointly convicted and sentenced to life on January 9, 2024, by Judge Roosevelt Willie of Criminal Court A for the crime of Murder, Criminal Conspiracy, and False Report to Law Enforcement Officials."

In another letter addressed to Cllr. Massah Jallabah, the Deputy Minister for Administration at the Ministry of Justice, dated June 11, 2024, Kwaidah requested the sum of US$226.00 to provide an escort for Justice Musu Scott.

"We present our compliments and request your indulgence and approval for funds for an escort team of Correction and LNP officers to undertake the compassionate leave requested by inmate Gloria Musu Scott to visit her home to conduct an appropriate inventory of losses and damage done by intruders... In view of the above, we request your approval of Two Hundred Twenty-six Thousand United States Dollars (USD 226.00) to carry on the exercise."

It is not yet clear how long she will be out of prison, and whether she will come out along with her three siblings.

When contacted, Kwaidah did not confirm or deny the information or question the authenticity of the documents. However, he referred FrontPage Africa to his boss, Justice Minister Oswald Tweh. FrontPage Africa contacted the office of Minister Tweh through his special assistant, Atty. Siaffa Bahn Kemokai, II. Kemokai said he was not authorized to speak on the issue but promised to forward FPA's inquiry to his superiors. He did not get back to FPA by the time of publication.

It has not been established whether Justice Musu Scott's home was recently burglarized. However, in February this year, Musu Scott's defense lawyers and family reported unknown men breaking into her Virginia (outskirts of Monrovia) residence and taking away materials.

According to the defense team at the time, the intruders were arrested with the help of community members who called the police, and they were later taken to a local police depot, Zone 6 Base in Virginia. "They were said to be caught with assorted items from the main house," the defense team noted.

It was also alleged that the intruders took several items, including a flat-screen TV, rice, oil, and construction materials, among others. During the trial at the Lower Court (Criminal Court A), the defense raised the issue that unknown persons were still accessing the compound and taking items. However, the prosecution argued that a family member named Anthony Musu was going to the compound under the pretext of feeding the dogs, and Judge Roosevelt Z. Willie ruled that no family member should visit the compound.

Tempering Justice with compassion

While it is not unusual to grant a prisoner compassionate leave, some legal pundits are questioning the conditions under which she is being temporarily released from prison. A legal luminary, who asked for anonymity, said given Justice Musu-Scott's close ties with the current administration, he sees the action as tempering justice with compassion.

"Going to access losses and damage is not enough ground to grant an inmate a compassionate leave. And what's more troubling, they are going to use taxpayers' money to facility her leave and provide her the needed security."

But a judge, who also asked not to be named said the Minister of Justice has the prerogative to grant an inmate a compassionate leave. "Once the Minister deems it fit, he can grant an inmate request for compassionate leave," the judge said.

Cllr. Gloria Maya Musu Scott served as Liberia's Justice Minister and later as the Chief Justice of the Supreme Court until her retirement in 2003. She transitioned to politics and was elected Senator of Maryland County in 2005. She took her seat in 2006 and served until 2012. In 2012, she was appointed the chairperson of the Constitutional Review Committee by then-President Ellen Johnson Sirleaf.

During the trial, Musu Scott maintained her innocence, claiming that Charloe Musu was killed by an unknown assailant who entered her home in the capital, Monrovia. The shocking arrest and subsequent trial garnered widespread attention in Liberia, especially given Musu Scott's standing as a champion of women's rights and her role in President Joseph Boakai's political party.

As a key member of Boakai's political party, Musu Scott played an important role in the legal team that successfully challenged the election commission's decision to withhold access to the voters' roll in the lead-up to the December presidential election.