Liberia: Judge Willie Blocks Prosecution Witness’ Video, Audio Evidence, Ejects Technicians After Ruling on Disputed Statements in Capitol Arson Trial

Monrovia-The Capitol Arson trial took a dramatic twist on Wednesday, December 3, after Judge Roosevelt Z. Willie issued a decisive ruling on a series of objections surrounding defendants’ statements, then moved to block the use of a prosecution laptop and eject two technicians over concerns raised by the defense.

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By Willie N. Tokpah 

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Judge Willie ruled that several of the statements the prosecution sought to introduce through its first witness would not be admitted into evidence.

Citing Section 25.2 of the Civil Procedure Law of Liberia, the Judge emphasized that documents must be properly identified and testified to before they can be marked or admitted.

However, he held that statements made by the defendants themselves, while “in the dock,” should be marked and passed to the trial jurors, provided that they were properly testified to by the prosecution witness, LNP officer Raphael Wilson of the Crime Services Division.

On the defense’s claims that the statements were obtained through torture, Judge Willie said the issue had already been addressed by both Criminal Court “A” and the Supreme Court.

He added that the defendants were represented by counsel during police investigations, and any objections to mistreatment should have been raised by their lawyers at that stage.

He further cited medical reports sent to the court in which defendants reportedly denied being tortured, underscoring that the Supreme Court had already affirmed the findings.

“Defendants Never Wrote the Statements”

Before the ruling, defense counsel had launched multiple objections during the direct examination of Officer Wilson, arguing that, the defendants did not write the statements attributed to them; some lawyers who represented them were forced upon them; the statements were irrelevant and had not been served on the defense as required by law and that the documents were extracted through torture and coercion.

Prosecution resisted, arguing that the defense “missed the legal timing” for such objections, and insisted the issues had already been disposed of at higher levels of the judiciary.

Tension Escalates, Defense Says Evidence Is “Made Up”

The most explosive confrontation came after the ruling, when the defense accused the prosecution of attempting to introduce “made-up” evidence.

The dispute began when one of the technicians assisting prosecution witness Wilson abruptly left the courtroom without permission and returned with another laptop intended to display video evidence.

Defense counsel argued that such conduct raised serious integrity concerns about the electronic evidence being presented.

Defense further complained that a female technician assisting the prosecution had been seen using her phone, allegedly communicating during the proceedings, another red flag, they said, for safeguarding the authenticity of the digital material.

Judge Bars Laptop, Removes Technicians

Judge Willie immediately acted on the concerns and barred the newly introduced laptop from being used.

Judge Willie also ordered both technicians to leave the courtroom entirely.

This decision came even though the technicians had already begun displaying video and audio recordings, which the prosecution maintained were crucial pieces of evidence in the Capitol Arson case.

Proceedings Suspended Until December 9

With the disputes unresolved and the court’s evidentiary pathway disrupted, Judge Willie postponed the matter to Tuesday, December 9, at 9:00 a.m., where the prosecution will attempt to proceed with its first witness under heightened scrutiny.

The Capitol Arson trial continues to command national attention, as arguments over procedure, admissibility, and the integrity of evidence intensify with each hearing.