-In Nimba
By: Shallon S. Gonlor |
shallonsgonlor@gmail.com
NIMBA COUNTY, Liberia — Jurors at the Specialized Sexual Offenses Division Court in Nimba County’s 8th Judicial Circuit have delivered two verdicts — a unanimous not guilty and a hung jury in the trial of two defendants indicted for gang rape.
Defendant Romeo Macargo, 32, was found not guilty, while the jury failed to reach a verdict for Roland Suah, 33, resulting in a hung jury for a new trial.
The two men were reportedly linked to gang raping a 62-year-old woman at a wake-keeping ceremony on September 26, 2025, in Zlangban Street, Ganta City.
The trial, which lasted for a few days, concluded on Thursday, February 19, 2026, with not guilty and hung jury verdicts returned by a 12-member jury panel after reviewing evidence, including witness testimonies and documentaries, which led to the verdicts.
Macargo was initially arrested and detained at Sanniquellie Central Prison on October 3, 2025, while Suah was apprehended later after absconding from the crime scene. The jury’s unanimous not guilty ultimately sets defendant Romeo Macargo free from the crime charged, but failed to reach a decision for defendant Roland Suah.
Following the jury panel verdicts, the Sexual Offenses Division Court’s Resident Circuit Judge, Musa S. Sidibey ordered Romeo Macargo’s immediate release from the Sanniquellie Central Prison without a day.
Defendant Roland Suah was remanded to prison awaiting a new trial.
In response, the Public Defense Office in Nimba County, welcomed the verdicts, commending the court and jury for a fair and transparent trial. The defense counsel pledged to mount a stronger defense for Roland Suah, the defendant with a hung jury, when the case is retried.
CASE NARRATIVE:
The 62-year-old woman complained to the Women and Children Protection Section of the Liberian National Police, LPMC-Ganta Depot, about an alleged attack, and gang-raped by several youths about 4-to-5.
According to the victim, she met her attackers in the early morning hours between 2-to-3:0’clok a.m. when she had gone to urinate behind a house in a nearby banana bush in the darkness.
The victim recounted her horrifying experience, saying, she was washing dirty dishes at the wake keeping all night long, but left to go urinate behind a house around a banana bush where a group of boys rushed, gripped her forcefully, and took her a distance behind a church building, an isolated place, and allegedly had sex with her one after another.
“They undressed me. Some hold my mother and put sand inside it. While the others were on my hands and feet. They had sexual intercourse with me both in my vagina and anus,” she narrated without a rolling of tears. She further stated, “They were having sex with me when I was bleeding from my vagina. They left me over, and I was unconscious. Before I could go unconscious, I recognized one of my attackers from his plaited hair like an American plait on his head.”
She added that it was through the grace of God that the community dwellers rescued her from the crime scene and took her to the hospital.
Defendant Romeo Macargo, denied allegations of gang rape, providing an alibi defense for his whereabouts on the evening of the incident. According to Macargo, he attended the wake-keeping program on Zlangban Street from 5:00 pm to 9:00 pm on Friday, accompanied by friends, including one George.
“On Friday at 5:00 pm, I went to Zlangban Street for the wake-keeping program. There, I met some of my friends in the program. After leaving the program, he claimed to have gone home to Hope Village. “We all were there up to 9:00pm, before I went to bed in the Hope Village,” he said.
The following morning, Macargo stated that he encountered some girls who informed him about the alleged gang raping of an elderly woman during the wake-keeping program. He claimed to have followed them to the scene, where he stayed for about 45 minutes before leaving.
Macargo alleged that community members later surrounded him, accusing him of being one of the perpetrators based on the victim’s description of one of her attackers having “Da-da” hair.
Roland Suah, another defendant in the alleged gang rape case also denied involvement. According to Suah, he went behind a house to urinate during the wake-keeping program and overheard a distress call.
“I went behind the house to urinate. There, I heard someone crying, “My people come for me.” I thought that it was a boyfriend and girlfriend fighting.”
Suah claimed he initially thought it was a lovers’ quarrel due to the loud shouting but did not investigate further. Instead, he returned to the program and informed a friend, E-man, about the cries for help.
E-man, who had flashlights, accompanied Suah back to the area, where they found the elderly woman lying unconscious in a pool of blood.
“Being that he was having flashlights, two of us went to the area; we saw the Old-Ma lying down, E-man asked her, but she never explained anything. I saw someone leaving the crime scene, and that person was having long hair like an American plait or ‘Da-da hair.”
Suspect Suah alleged that upon seeing him, E-man accused him of being involved, claiming there was mud on him and a bloodstain on his trousers.
“E-man flashed light on me, and he said mud was on me, therefore, I am one of the doers.” Suah denied any wrongdoing, stating that an angry crowd surrounded, undressed, and threatened to kill him after examining his private parts.
