Contempt proceedings have been initiated at the Debt Court of Montserrado County against the management of the Liberia Electricity Corporation and the Ministry of Finance and Development Planning over alleged non-compliance with a final judgment of US$415,327.08 in favor of ELTEL Network Liberia.
By Victoria G Wesseh
The proceedings were triggered by a Bill of Information filed by ELTEL, asking the court to compel enforcement of its February 4, 2026 payment order.
According to court records, on July 7, 2026, the Debt Court issued show-cause summonses ordering LEC Managing Director Mohammed M. Sheriff and other senior LEC executives to appear before the court to explain why the judgment remains unsatisfied.
In its latest filing, argued last week, ELTEL is also asking the court to extend the show-cause action to include Finance and Development Planning Minister Augustine Kpehe Ngafuan, on grounds that the Ministry is the fiscal agent for payment of judgments against state-owned enterprises.
The court has not yet made any finding of contempt against Minister Ngafuan or MD Sheriff. A show-cause summons is not a conviction – it is an order to appear and explain.
Why ELTEL Filed For Contempt
According to ELTEL’s petition, LEC acknowledged liability for the debt on February 3, 2026, and on February 4, 2026, the court entered judgment for US$415,327.08. The court said the sum comprises an arbitral award of US$364,322.00 plus statutory interest, attorney’s fees and court costs.
ELTEL alleges the amount has not been paid more than five months later.
Counsel for ELTEL further alleged in court that the matter was referred to the Executive Mansion and that on July 3, 2026, President Joseph Nyuma Boakai, Sr. directed the Ministry of Finance to intervene to satisfy the judgment. That alleged directive has not been independently verified by this paper, and no public response from the Ministry on that specific allegation is on the court record as of press time.
On that basis, ELTEL is praying the court to find willful disobedience and to impose contempt sanctions.
Sanctions under Liberian law for civil contempt may include a fine, an order for coercive imprisonment until the contempt is purged by payment, or other enforcement orders. Such sanctions are discretionary and are imposed only after due process.
The Debt Court is expected to decide whether to grant a final enforcement ultimatum – such as a 72-hour order for the US$415,327.08 to be transferred to the court’s escrow account, or set a full contempt hearing date where Minister Ngafuan and MD Sheriff would be required to appear personally or through counsel to show cause.
Both officials remain entitled to the presumption of compliance until the court rules otherwise, and to present their defense.
The case file shows the underlying dispute stems from a 2016 contract for low-voltage materials that ELTEL alleges it supplied to LEC. The original suit was filed in June 2024 through Attorney-in-Fact Hans Armstrong.
