“Innocent Until Proven Guilty” -Chairman Bility -Urges Public to Allow Govt. Dispense Justice in Charloe Musu Case

MONROVIA : With the arrest and detention of former Chief Justice Gloria Musu Scott and three others on charges of murder, criminal conspiracy and providing false information to law enforcement officers, public opinion has been split right in the middle over whether or not the government of Liberia will expeditiously and impartially dispense justice that will bring closure to the case involving the murder of young Charloe Musu who was gruesomely found butchered in Cllr. Scott’s Virginia, Montserrado County residence on February 23 this year. In an apparent bid to bring sanity and reasoning to the raging debate that is currently trending in the country, Collaborating Political Party (CPP) National Chairman Musa Hassan Bility is calling on the public to avoid seeing the indictment as a guilty verdict, but an opportunity for the state to adduce convincing evidence that will identify Charloe Musu’s killer.

While indicating the importance of such a high-profile case, Bility was also quick to remind Liberians that public sentiment has been swayed from the fact that a little girl lost her life, to the high-profile nature of the case.

“There are several things happening in our country right now, among them is the issue with former Chief Justice Scott. I think we are missing something, or we are not focusing on; and this thing is that we are not focusing on the fact that a little girl lost her life, and from all indications, she was brutally murdered. Obviously, we need to know who did that, and obviously the first person to try to prove who did that is the government. We all expect the government to find out who killed the little girl. And so, it is important that when the process of trying to find out who killed the little girl is on, we should consider when it becomes the responsibility of the government to say this person did it.

“I think what should happen right now is that the lawyers of Cllr. Scott should present the facts; and the public must not react to the indictment as though it is a guilty verdict. I think the problem we have is the hypocrisy of our people. It is ok if you accuse someone, then that person is guilty. But it is not ok when someone is indicted and then the person is either guilty as indicted or falsely accused as indicted,” Bility reasoned.

Continuing, Bility frowned on what he considered as the confused reasoning of the Liberian society, which worries him a lot.

“For instance, the confusion just goes in a circle. Musa Bility runs his business, and the government says they closed him down. And then, the next day, a Stanton Witherspoon who has been indicted by the US Government for stealing over US$100 million comes out and says, because Musa Bility’s business has been closed for taxes, Alexander Cummings should immediately take him away from his campaign. That man (Stanton Witherspoon) represents a former ruling party that wants to come back to power.

“And so, when former Justice Scott is indicted, you create confusion if a group of people will say she didn’t do it, and that the government is witch-hunting her. These are the same people that are saying that the government closed this guy’s business down because he committed a crime, therefore he should go to jail. So, sometimes when you’re giving mixed messages, you don’t know how it’s going to work against you.  That’s why those of us who are giving the same message will always try to be clear on our messages.

“In order to be clear on our messages, the first thing we have to do at this time is to say that as far as we are concerned, Cllr. Scott has not been found guilty. We expect the Government of Liberia to bring the charges, and the charges will be in the full glare of the public. The evidence that will be adduced against her will also be judged in a court of public opinion, and therefore a lot of processes will take place. I don’t want us to lose sight of one thing. A little girl’s life has been cut short. And we should not stop at any length trying to find out who killed her, or what killed her.

“With this process, there were allegations flying all over the place; and those who believe that those allegations are still available, when the trial starts, they should make it public or they should allow that evidence to come to the public and to the court. If this is not how the little girl died, as the government is accusing, let’s get rid of that. It doesn’t mean we cannot pursue and find out how she died.

Vigilantly monitor the trial

Chairman Bility said as his civic duty, he will vigilantly monitor the court proceeding to ensure that the right thing is done.

“We will follow this case, though we have not been privileged to see the evidence from both sides, for or against the government’s indictment, but our focus remains that the killer of that little girl must be found and brought to justice. And even though she’s dead, she has not been laid to rest. Until we find out and bring closure to who killed her, we must all be looking at wherever the finger points,” Chairman Bility said.

“The government is responsible for our security, so when the government comes out and says this person did it, go and prove your innocence in the court of law. And during the trial, we will be following. We will make sure if something goes wrong, if we smell foul play, we will make sure we speak against it. This is how you develop a dependable judicial system.

“Hopefully, it will be a quick trial, but it is not good news for the country when a former Chief Justice, the custodian of the judicial system of our country, sleeps behind bars. That is another milestone in the history of our politics,” Bility said, with a hint of sadness at the peculiar twist of fate that the Charloe Musu murder case has taken.