By By: Contributing Writer
Monrovia – Criminal Court “C” at the Temple of Justice in Monrovia has sentenced former Foreign Affairs Minister Dee-Maxwell Saah Kemayah and others to 10 years in prison, with some defendants receiving 5 years. The defense has announced an appeal to the Supreme Court.
The ruling was handed down today, Friday, November 13, 2026, by Resident Judge Ousman F. Feika, after denying the defendants’ Motion for New Trial. The court had heard the motion on November 6 challenging the October 9 jury verdict.
The case involves 29,412 bags of 25kg rice, valued at about US$500,000, donated in April 2023 by the King Salman Humanitarian Aid and Relief Center of Saudi Arabia for disaster victims and vulnerable Liberians.
The rice was received through the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, then headed by Kemayah, before being turned over to the National Disaster Management Agency (NDMA) for distribution.
The government, through the Assets Recovery and Property Retrieval Taskforce (AREPT), alleged that 25,054 bags valued at US$425,918 were diverted, misapplied or distributed without proper authorization.
On October 9, 2026, after a 40-day trial, a 12-member jury convicted eight of the thirteen defendants, acquitted three, and could not reach a verdict on two counts. Among those convicted were Kemayah, former Internal Affairs Minister Varney A. Sirleaf, former Deputy Foreign Minister Thelma Duncan-Sawyer, former GSA Deputy Director Edris Bility, and Momolu Johnson.
They were charged with theft of property, economic sabotage, misuse of public office, criminal conspiracy and misapplication of entrusted property.
Custody: Punch
