Monrovia – Grand Cape Mount County Senator Varney Sherman, one of 11 defendants indicted in the Sable Mining bribery scandal, has referred to the allegation against him as a “case without any evidence”.
His assertions Monday at the ongoing trial comes after state lawyer, Assistant Justice Minister For Litigation Cllr. Wesseh Alphonso Wesseh had rested with the presentation of 62 pieces of both oral and documentary evidence.
Senator Sherman, who is currently serving the Liberian Senate as Chairman on Judiciary, is being indicted with 11 others for allegedly receiving money from the British Company to bribe former government officials to change the Public Procurement Act of 2010 in favor of the company to mine the Wologisi Mountain in Lofa County.
They have been charged with economic sabotage, bribery, criminal conspiracy, facilitation, and solicitation. They have since denied the charges.
Those indicted with him are former House Speaker Alex Tyler, Bomi County Senator Morris Saytumah, former Mines and Energy Minister Eugene Shannon, former Deputy Minister of Mines and Energy, ECB Jones. Former National Investment Commission Chairman Richard Tolbert.
Former PPCC boss Willie Belleh, businessman Christopher Onanuga, Andrew Groves, Klaus Piprek, Sable Mining Company among others.
But state lawyers resolved to drop charges against Sable Mining executive Andrew Groves and the Sable Mining Company itself due to what they referred to as lack of adequate evidence to link the two Defendants.
However, Cllr Sherman, who is the Defense counsel first witness, took the stand in his own defense on Monday, July 1, at the Criminal Court “C”.
He said as a career lawyer he had the opportunity to participate in the drafting of the Mineral, Mining as well as Petroleum Laws of Liberia dating back to the tenure of President Charles Taylor, former Chairman of the National Transitional Government headed by Gyude Bryant
“I advised, consulted and prepared documents for many foreign investors, including Sable Mining Africa Ltd,” stated Cllr. Sherman, who also denied receiving any money from Sable Mining to bribe former government officials to change the PPCC Act.
Commenting on the Global Witness 2016 Report titled “The Deceivers” that indicted him, Cllr Sherman alleges that the report was written by “neophytes, incompetent people who don’t know nothing about the investment law of Liberia”.
Cllr. Sherman added that the Deceivers consist of 85 pages only 11 of those pages are about Liberia while the rest are on Zimbabwe, Guinea, South Africa, Mozambique, London, and several other countries.
According to Sherman, the publication of the Deceivers was on May 11, 2016, President Ellen Johnson Sirleaf appointed a Special Presidential Taskforce headed by Cllr. Fonati Koffa as its chairman to investigate and anyone found culpable would be prosecuted.
“The Senate Judiciary Committee Chairman added that he is 66 years old and have never experienced nor see any political witchhunt as this case is.
“Your honor I ask you to please go back to the record of this court and read the June 6, 2016 Indictment and asked yourself this evidence that was submitted to the grand jury was sufficient to establish probable cause for the commission of these crimes,” said Cllr. Sherman.
The trial was adjourned by Presiding Judge Peter Gbeneweleh due to time far spend. The testimony of Cllr. Sherman will continue on Tuesday, July 2, at the hour of 10:00 am.