Former Vice President Joseph Boakai and Standard Bearer of the former ruling Unity Party was discharged from the witness stand on Thursday, May 19, after being prevented by court from responding to several questions said to be critical to the Defense lawyers of the Alternative National Congress (ANC) in establishing facts and circumstances in the decision making process within the Collaborating Political Parties (CPP).
The request of ANC Defense Lawyers for Mr. Boakai to identify which of the four separate copies of the CPP framework documents submitted by State Prosecutors to court, were original and which was alleged to have been forged, was rejected by the court following objection by State Lawyers.
The former Vice President was also prevented from answering, whether it was the May 19, 2020 framework document filed at the National Elections Commission (NEC), July 2020, based on which the CPP was certificated August 14, and whether he Boakai attended and spoke at the certification program.
Asked whether he was aware as he said in his May 16, court testimony about the “amendment recommendations” including the ten changes by the team of CPP lawyers, Mr. Boakai denied and said “knowing and being aware are not the same.”
Several other questions put to Boakai by ANC Defense Lawyers deemed crucial to establishing contradictions between his testimony and that of the first state witness Theodore Momo were met with stiff objections by state prosecutors and upheld by the court.
On the question of whether Boakai heard about the May 25 amended lawyers’ version of the CPP framework document, Boakai said he only heard about it on Thursday, May 19, right in court from the ANC lead defense lawyer, Counsellor Abraham Sillah and Attorney Lafayette Gould.
UP number 1 partisan also said that all the political leaders of the four constituent political parties signed the five framework document on the same day, May 19, even though, the LP Leader, Senator Nyonblee Karnga-Lawrence signed in Buchanan, Grand Bassa County, while others signed in Monrovia.
He was the fifth of 34 witnesses, subpoenaed to testify for the state, in the trial which started January 2022, into allegations of altering the CPP framework document.
The first witness, Theodore Momo, Chairman of the All Liberian Party of Mr Benoni Urey, the Political Officer and Hearing Officers and Chairperson of the National Elections Commission (NEC), Mrs. Davidetta Brown -Lasannah have all testified in the trial involving the ANC Political Leader, Mr. Alexander Cummings, its National Chairman Daniel Naatehn and Secretary General Counsellor Aloysius Toe, accused of altering the CPP framework document.
The three accused ANC stalwarts have adamantly denied the charges and described the protracted trial as bogus and politically motivated by the All Liberian Party of Mr. Benoni Urey in cahoot with the Unity Party of Joseph Boakai and President George Weah to thwart Mr. Cummings Presidential bid in 2023.
Meanwhile, the Monrovia City Court has granted two weeks leave of absence to the ANC Political Leader, Mr. Cummings and three weeks to Senator Daniel Naatehn following requests by ANC Defense Lawyers for them to attend to pressing matters of concerns.