Monrovia – Despite his indictment by the Government of Liberia for allegedly killing several Liberians, Benjamin Yeaten, the fierce rebel general of former President Charles Taylor’s forces, is yet to face prosecution in the country.
Report by Kennedy L. Yangian, [email protected]
Court records obtained by FrontPageAfrica Monday, August 20, 2018, from the Criminal Court “A” at the Temple of Justice shows that General Yeaten was indicted for murder by the court in late 2008.
It is now 10 years since the indictment was drawn and the accused is yet to appear to answer to it for the alleged crime.
If a court doesn’t hear a matter after two terms of court, the legal team of that defendant may file to move the court through a motion for dismissal of his/her charges.
General Yeaten, also head of President Taylor’s Special Security Service (SSS) now Executive Protective Service (EPS), fled the country in 2003, when the former President left the country and went into exile. His whereabouts remain unknown at the moment.
The Grand Jury of Montserrado County, sitting in its November 2008 Term, indicted and charged General Yeaten with murder, a felony of the first degree.
The indictment states that in November 1997 and between June 5 and 8, 2003, “without any color of right and in violation of the Statutory Laws of Liberia, made and provided with criminal and wicked intent to commit murder and intentionally took the lives of citizens of Liberia.”
The Grand Jury accused him of “knowingly, feloniously, purposely, criminally and maliciously ordered the shooting and execution of and did deliberately cause the death of John W. Yormie at the time Deputy Minister of Operations of the Ministry of National Security, Isaac Vaye at the time Deputy Minister of Public Works for Technical Services and Samuel Dokie, former Minister of Internal Affairs and members of his family.”
Also the Grand Jury said defendant Yeaten on the night of June 5, 2003 sent for John Yormie with information that he was needed by President Taylor and was taken from his residence along with Isaac Vaye on the same night of June 5, 2003 in a light blue jeep marked 1249 and an SSS vehicle with license plate SSS 18 under escort by two armed men Junior Nyantee and Banana (Aide-Camp to President Taylor).
Subsequently, on June 7, 2003 Yeaten acknowledged to the wives of the two men and other women from Nimba County that they were in his custody and he could release them the following day, June 8, 2003 but the two men were never seen again by their families.
According to the indictment, the two men were taken to the CNC Camp in Nimba County where Yeaten used as a base and were shot in their heads by Yeaten’s ‘special forces men’ over whom he had control and their bodies deposited in a well, around the LPRC Oil Terminal Sub-Station in Ganta, Nimba County.
The Grand Jury further stated that the death of the two men was allegedly acknowledged by President Taylor himself, who sent former Vice President Moses Blah, Harrison Karnwea and Prince Myers to inform the widows about the death of their husbands.
According to the indictment, “with felonious scheme to murder, murdered Samuel Dokie, his wife Janet and other relatives on November 1997 in Bong County while en route to Nimba County to attend a wedding of their relatives, they were detained by the former Bong County Inspector of Police, the late Ernest Mulbah, but was later transferred to the SSS Detachment in Gbarnga, Bong County where Yeaten ordered that they be killed which they were with their heads being beheaded and remains burned.
“This case have been pending before this court for a very long time; it appears that the government lacks the political will to arrest the defendant and bring him to this court,” said a court source, who begged anonymity.
Efforts by this paper to contact Montserrado County Attorney, Cllr. Edwin Martin and Solicitor General Cllr. Daku Mulbah on the status of the case under the CDC-led government, proved futile up to press time as they could not be reached despite repeated calls made to the two officials.
Commonly known in some quarters as “50,” because of his assigned car plate number for person heading the EPS, General Yeaten’s indictment has surfaced at the time when many Liberians are calling for the establishment of a war crimes court in Liberia.
