The Great Varney Sherman: Liberia’s self-proclaimed “Perry Mason,” who said he graduated from various law schools top of his class including from the world prestigious Harvard University Law School, is himself now the accused, with possible long term jail sentence hanging over his head if found guilty?
This is hard to digest. Is this Liberia?
The Great Lawyer and Senator and two other Liberians living today are competing for the title or have each crowned themselves “Liberia’s best lawyer”–Phillip Banks and Charles Brumskine. But beauty is in the eye of the beholder.
As the Sable Mining bribery scandal indictments were being announced for the “mother of all corruption trials,” the Great Liberian lawyer Varney Sherman likened the corrupt judicial system in Liberia to a “river” and himself as a “fish” that was born in that river.
He promised to walk free when the trial is over. Well…..?
As a lawyer, Mr. Sherman was the lawyer for many of the over the “foreign investment companies” doing business in Liberia that Global Witness said were 99% not in the interest of the Liberian people.
As Senate Chair of the Judiciary Committee, Senator Sherman is strongly opposed for a “review” of the bogus “investment agreements” on the grounds that many of the companies are his clients. His interest versus the national interest now on trial.
Isn’t it then interesting now that one of such “investment companies” Sable Mining that Cllr. represented is now in court for bribery and suddenly, this great lawyer does not have or did destroy bank records of checks that he paid out?
And the Bank too has not records of the checks? Give me a break.
Remember, the river is now flushed with plenty fish after a heavy downpour as it overflows its banks.
But we all know too well that some greedy fish looking for baits that don’t return to the riverbed are left stranded on land when the water recedes and do end up on the dinner table.
Will the great lawyer Varney Sherman, the “fish” end up on the dinner table or will he navigate the treacherous riverbank to find his way back into the river?
This is the drama that is unfolding now in this trial. But the entire world is watching this trial.
The owner of Global Witness survived Hitler’s Nazi genocide to become one of the richest persons in the world today, putting his money where his mouth is and trying to help poor nations fight corruption and strengthen their democratic institutions.
I am talking about American billionaire Dr. George Soros who is now reportedly worth over $20 billion, and Liberia has certainly benefited financially from his generosity. Just ask President Ellen Johnson Sirleaf.
The Global Witness Report that exposed the Sable Mining bribery scandal which is the basis for the present corruption trial of Senator Sherman and others, was the result of American and British investigators, and Dr. Soros and the American and British governments are carefully monitoring this trial.
There is a lot at stake riding on this trial. But we too know about the corrupt Liberian river and the fish that live in it.
Will Liberia continue to be the scumbag of greedy capitalists and their Liberian collaborators to drain our natural resources with no benefit to the country?
This is what this trial is also about. This means that we as a nation must review all the other “investment agreements” that Global Witness said are bogus.
Just imagine that Liberia, and in particular Varney Sherman and gang nearly gave away our iron ore rich Wologizi Mountain believed to be worth billions of billions of dollars for a mere $900,000.00?
And this is the trail and Sherman the great lawyer Varney Sherman now can’t produce the bank records or cancel checks?
The corrupt Liberian judicial system is also on trial in this case and the kind of message the government wants to send to future “foreign investors.”
This trial is far bigger than any one individual Liberian or group of Liberians.
“And the verdict is GUILTY/not GUILTY, and so this Court has ruled/ordered.”
Jerry Wehtee Wion,
Journalist and Political Commentator
Washington, DC, USA