Monrovia – The month-long corruption case involving two employees of the John F. Kennedy Memorial Center (JFKMC) seems to be heading to a logical conclusion with two senior staffers, Deputy Administrator, Munah Tarpeh, and the dismissed Chief Financial Officer, Serina Gbaba, taking the witness stand for the second time.
Report by Kennedy L. Yangian [email protected]
The two senior administrators were invited to the court on Thursday based on the request of the prosecutors, Cllrs. Jerry Garlawolo, Johnny Momoh, Amara Sherriff and Atty. Bobby Livingstone to rebut testimonies of the two employees currently on trial.
The two employees on trial, Patrick Konuwa and Rebeah Annous, are from the Finance and IT sections respectively, facing charges of economic sabotage, theft of property, money laundering, criminal conspiracy and facilitation.
It was reported in the indictment that the defendants allegedly tampered with the administrative password of the finance section of the hospital to transfer the amount of LD$15.7M and US$5,000 to their personal accounts at various banks in central Monrovia.
Prior to the start of the trial, five of the defendants confessed to judgment by admitting to the commission of the crimes and agreed to pay back the money converted to their personal use, while the three defendants currently on trial pleaded not guilty, thereby joining issue with the state.
Defendant Patrick Konowa denied all charges against him, adding that he had played no role in the check scandal as alleged in the indictment, indicating that before checks were given to him for deposit, Serina Gbaba and Muna Tarpeh were aware.
For Rebeah Annous, an IT technician who is being accused of installing team viewer on the laptop of the Finance Officer and having knowledge of the administrative password, he admitted in his general testimony while on the witness stand that he installed a team viewer on the Finance officer though he denied ever knowing the administrative password.
“It was on the 20th day of January 2016, I worked on the computer of Mrs. Gbaba after which my letter of suspension was handed over to me,” said Annous.
But while on the witness stand as a rebuttal witness Thursday, Madam Gbaba told the court that on August 14, 2015, she asked Annous to install software on her computer so she could have easy access to her quick books.
Madam Tarpeh, Deputy Administrator of the JFK Hospital who was also the prosecution’s second rebuttal witness told the court that defendant Konowa was responsible for the issuance of receipts and the collection of checks from insurance companies; and when those checks were collected, he brought it to her as deputy for it to be taken to the CEO but the checks the defendant is on trial for were never given unto her leadership.
“Patrick Konowa, after receiving the checks from the insurance company, he brought the checks to me as deputy for administration to take to the CEO for endorsement.
Those checks are given back to him for deposit in the medical center account, however the checks in question were never given to me by Patrick Konowa,” said Deputy Administrator Tarpeh.
The two rebuttal witnesses were discharged as Judge Emery Paye adjourned the trial to resume at 10:00 am Friday for the prosecution’s last rebuttal witness
