A jury in Liberia has convicted three former senior officials of ex-President George Weah’s administration over the alleged diversion of humanitarian rice donated by Saudi Arabia, following a 40-day trial.

The 12-member jury of Criminal Court ‘C’ found former Foreign Affairs Minister Dee-Maxwell Saah Kemayah, former Internal Affairs Minister Varney A. Sirleaf and former Deputy Internal Affairs Minister for Administration Momolu Johnson guilty of multiple offences linked to the disappearance of more than 25,000 bags of rice.

Presiding Judge Ousman F. Feika received the verdict on Friday.

The convictions mark a significant development in Liberia’s efforts to prosecute alleged economic crimes involving former senior government officials.

Sirleaf and Johnson were found guilty on all five counts in the indictment: theft of property, abuse of office, misapplication of entrusted property, criminal conspiracy and economic sabotage.

Kemayah, who received the diplomatic consignment in his capacity as foreign affairs minister, was also convicted on multiple counts. However, the jury failed to reach a unanimous verdict on two charges against him — theft of property and criminal conspiracy — leaving those counts unresolved and potentially open to retrial.

The jury acquitted former Deputy Foreign Affairs Minister Thelma Duncan Sawyer of all charges.

Court reports indicate that seven people have been convicted in the wider case, including former National Disaster Management Agency (NDMA) Executive Director Henry O. Williams, Augustine Kollie, Archievego Doe and former General Services Agency (GSA) Deputy Director Edris Bility.

Former GSA Director-General Mary T. Broh, who was initially indicted, was removed from the case after prosecutors entered a nolle prosequi, discontinuing proceedings against her.

The verdict concerns a humanitarian donation made in April 2023 by the King Salman Humanitarian Aid and Relief Center of Saudi Arabia. The consignment comprised 29,412 bags of 25kg rice valued at $425,918 and was intended for disaster victims and extremely vulnerable people in Liberia.

The rice was consigned to the Liberian government through the Ministry of Foreign Affairs for distribution by the NDMA.

According to the indictment by the Ministry of Justice and the Assets Recovery Taskforce, approximately 25,054 bags — more than 85 per cent of the donation — could not be accounted for through authorised NDMA distribution channels.

Prosecutors alleged that the rice was diverted and distributed outside established procedures, raising questions about the handling of humanitarian assistance intended for vulnerable communities.

The central dispute during the trial was whether the transfer of the rice from the NDMA warehouse in Gbarnga to GSA facilities amounted to an administrative arrangement or a criminal act.

The defence, including testimony from Sirleaf, maintained that the transfer was prompted by logistical and storage constraints rather than a criminal directive from the Foreign Ministry.

The jury rejected that defence in reaching its guilty verdicts against Sirleaf and Johnson on charges including abuse of office and misapplication of entrusted property.

The charges relate to the handling of public resources and the alleged misuse of official authority. Under Liberia’s Penal Law, theft and misapplication charges can arise when property entrusted for a specific purpose is unlawfully converted or handled outside authorised procedures.

Abuse of office concerns the alleged improper use of public authority, while criminal conspiracy requires evidence of an agreement between two or more people to commit an offence. Economic sabotage is among the charges brought in cases involving alleged wrongdoing against the country’s economic interests.

The convictions could have wider implications for accountability in Liberia, where President Joseph Nyuma Boakai’s administration has pledged to address corruption and strengthen oversight of public resources. However, the verdicts concern the individual defendants and the evidence presented in court.

The case has also drawn attention to controls governing humanitarian donations, particularly the movement of goods from diplomatic missions and government agencies to designated distribution bodies and intended beneficiaries.
The disappearance of a substantial portion of the consignment, if established through the court’s final findings, raises concerns about documentation, custody and accountability in the humanitarian supply chain.

The case will now proceed to the post-verdict stage, where the court is expected to address sentencing and any applicable restitution orders.

The court will also have to determine the financial liability associated with the missing rice, with the prosecution’s figures suggesting that the unaccounted-for portion was worth more than $360,000.

The defence may challenge the verdict through post-trial applications, including a motion for a new trial or an arrest of judgment. Any subsequent appeal would be subject to Liberia’s legal procedures and the decisions of the relevant courts.

The two charges on which the jury failed to reach a unanimous verdict against Kemayah remain unresolved and may be retried or dismissed by the state.

The full certified judgment and jury verdict sheet will be important in clarifying the precise findings on each count and the legal consequences for the individual defendants.

For now, the verdict establishes that the jury found Sirleaf, Johnson and Kemayah guilty of specified offences connected to the handling of the Saudi rice donation, while acquitting Sawyer and failing to reach a unanimous decision on two charges against Kemayah.