By By Staff Writer
MONROVIA – Former Foreign Minister Dee-Maxwell Saah Kemayah and former Internal Affairs Minister Varney Sirleaf have been found guilty in the US$425,918 Saudi rice corruption case at Criminal Court “C”, Temple of Justice, but the jury returned a hung verdict on theft and criminal conspiracy charges against Kemayah.
The split verdict is significant. While Kemayah was convicted on other counts, jurors failed to reach a unanimous decision on theft and criminal conspiracy, meaning those two counts are neither a conviction nor an acquittal and remain unresolved for further court action.
The case centered on 29,412 bags of 25kg rice donated by the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia through the King Salman Humanitarian Aid and Relief Center in April 2023. Prosecutors alleged that 25,054 bags valued at US$425,918 were diverted or distributed outside authorized channels instead of reaching disaster victims.
Kemayah, who served under former President George Weah, denied stealing the rice, telling the court his role was limited to facilitating the donation through diplomatic channels while storage and distribution rested with the NDMA and GSA. Sirleaf, who chaired the NDMA Board, testified that transferring the rice to the GSA was an institutional decision, not a unilateral directive from Kemayah, a position supported by former GSA Director-General Mary Broh.
With convictions now secured against several former officials including ex-NDMA Director Augustine Kollie, attention turns to Judge Ousman F. Feika for sentencing and a decision on how to handle the unresolved theft and conspiracy charges against Kemayah.
