Monrovia – Indicted House Speaker J. Alex Tyler has accused President Ellen Johnson Sirleaf as the mastermind in the altering of the Public Procurement and Contract Commission, PPCC Act in which bribe was allegedly offered by Sable Mining, a British company that was said to have provided nearly US$1M in bribe that prompted the speaker’s indictment along with several past and present government officials.
Report by: Kennedy L. Yangian [email protected]
Lawyers representing the Speaker appearing at the Criminal Court “C’ Tuesday, presented a letter purportedly addressed to him by President Sirleaf, asking him to have the House of Representatives amend the PPCC Act of 2005.
Speaker Tyler also presented a copy of the president’s communication during Tuesday’s plenary of the house after his legal defense team headed by Cllr. Powo Hilton filed the document before the court at the Temple of Justice.
The Speaker lawyers in a motion prayed the court for separate trial on grounds that his defenses are quite contrary to that of the rest of the defendants, including Cllr. Varney Sherman, E.C.B. Jones, Christopher Onanuga, and Sable Mining among others.
The part of the letter in question with reference # EJS/MOS/RL/564/’010’ dated August 5, 2010 and addressed to Speaker Tyler copy of which was served as exhibit, of defendant Tyler to the court reads: “I am pleased to submit herewith the review by your honorable body the amended and restated Public Procurement & Commission Act of 2005”.
Other parts of the letter reads: Mr. Speaker, I believe that this revised Act is best for Liberia and in the interest of our country and people and recommended that you submit it to the honorable Legislature for enactment” stated the letter accordingly signed by President Ellen Johnson Sirleaf.
In defendant Tyler’s motion for separate trial, his legal defense indicated that Section 16.7 of the Civil Procedure Law which is applicable to criminal proceedings grants the rights to the court for a separate trial as to a particular party in a proceeding.
“Granting of motion for severance trial is addressed to the sound discretion of the court where the defenses of the defendants are antagonistic with one another separate trial is ought and should be granted” said Tyler’s motion for severance trial.
The Global Witness 2016 Report on Liberia alleged that Speaker Tyler received a bribe in the amount of US$75,000.00 to amend the Public Procurement and Concession Act to award a concession agreement to a British company Sable Mining to mine the Wologisi Mountain in Lofa County.
Following the report a presidential taskforce set up to probe all those accused in the report, indicted Speaker Tyler on May 25, 2016 alongside Grand Cape Mount Senator Varney Sherman on five counts charges, bribery, criminal conspiracy, facilitation, solicitation and economic sabotage.
Since his indictment Speaker Tyler has been under immense pressure from his colleagues in the House of Representatives to have himself rescued as presiding officer of that body based on his indictment which could bring that body into public disrepute
Speaker Tyler is yet to rescue himself as presiding officer.
At a news conference last week Speaker Tyler argued that the law provides that an accused person is presumed innocent until he is proven guilty in a court of competent jurisdiction.
He continued that with the unfolding developments at the House Sirleaf is behind the plot to unseat him by using money as inducement to his colleagues to unseat him though the Executive Mansion has termed the Speaker’s allegation as a shock and “gossip politics”