Albert Bropleh Hits Back at Gov't

MONROVIA – The dismissed chairman of the Liberia Telecommunications Authority (LTA), Albert Bropleh, has categorically dismissed claims by Justice Minister, Christiana Tah, that he has absconded in an attempt to escape trial for economic crimes.

In a press release issued in Monrovia yesterday, Bropleh said, “I am and have been at home and within Monrovia since learning of my indictment some eight (8) weeks ago from a Star Radio broadcast on which the Solicitor General of Liberia, Hon. Michael Wilkins Wright was the featured guest.

“There is absolutely no reason for me to be on the run. I am a law-abiding individual with a name, character and reputation to protect and defend. For more than a year I had the opportunity, resources and wherewithal to leave Liberia, but I chose not to, simply because I want to clear my name through a court process where the truth will come to light and at which time my vindication will come,” Bropleh asserted.

He added that then the indictment was under seal, meaning that it was done in secret therefore no one knew its contents, and would not be served until the February Term of Court.

“However, during the last week of January 2010 when I read my indictment in the press, I immediately sought and obtained a bond which was approved by a judge and duly served on the Justice Ministry. Further, I spoke with Justice Minister Christiana Hammond Tah on Thursday (February 4, 2010) about an unrelated development, but she never informed me that her Ministry was looking for me,” the former LTA boss added.

“It is rather strange, sad and unfortunate that the Attorney General of Liberia, Christiana Hammond Tah, who is also Minister of Justice and the highest law enforcement officer in the land, would ‘climb on radio’ and make public pronouncements that my whereabouts are ‘unknown’. The fact that such utterance comes from such a high ranking official of government, a statement which has absolutely no basis in fact has serious implications with possibly deadly consequences considering we have a population highly prone to mob justice. This is not only a rather troubling development, but it speaks volumes about the sorry state of good governance in this country,” he added in the release.

Bropleh’s lawyer, Cllr. Pearl Brown Bull, has said in a letter dated December 23, 2009, addressed to the Justice Ministry and to which the Ministry has yet to respond: “…my client will cooperate fully with the investigation before your Ministry. He can be contacted by phone at … and/or through his Counsel of record.”

Bropleh further contended that he was at the court last Tuesday, a day prior to Tah’s pronouncement, and was seen by several people, including officials of the court, journalists and ordinary citizens.

“The government knew exactly how to reach me and where to find me, but they chose to further besmirch my good name more than the damage they have already caused.

“So, for the Attorney General of Liberia to ‘climb on radio’ and inform the nation and the world that my whereabouts are ‘unknown’ tells she does not know what’s happening in her office, which is symptomatic of the case against me where charges with absolutely no basis in fact have been levied against me and represented as the truth,” the accused former LTA Chairman further indicated.

“I believe I will get due process in the court since neither the General Auditing Commission (GAC), the Liberia Anti-Corruption Commission (LACC) nor the Ministry of Justice gave me due process, a serious deficiency in the Good Governance structure the world expects of Liberia given the fact that many nations, international institutions, multilateral organizations, foundations, corporations, etc. have and continue to invest money in Liberia for good governance. While other post-war countries like the Ivory Coast, Sierra Leone, Rwanda, etc. are making strides in their good governance apparatus and earning double-digit returns on their Return on Investment (ROI), Liberia’s yield is a Goose Egg (0%) if my case is supposed to be any measure of how Liberia fares on the Good Governance barometer.

“The GAC conducted an audit that is wrought with malice, prejudice and deliberate lies and falsehood. In the wake of protests and official challenges, the government ignored all of those concerns. The LACC never gave me due process. During the seven-month period of my investigation, I was never confronted with some of the charges I read in the newspaper that form my indictment. The Justice Ministry in turn also never gave me due process. My attorney, Cllr. Bull, wrote both the LACC and the Justice Ministry protesting my treatment and the lack of due process accorded me. But neither the Justice Ministry nor the LACC acknowledged nor responded to her letters – so much for good governance.

“If Justice Minister Christiana Hammond Tah, the highest law enforcement officer of the republic, who occupies a statutory office of high repute, can put information in the public domain that is deliberately false, just imagine the basis of the government’s case against me. I am happy for the opportunity to be finally heard in a court of law where the facts will come out. My witness list is at sixty three (63) and counting. I am certain that some of the potential witnesses will resist the call to testify, but they can rest assured of being subpoenaed,” Bropleh declared.