-Or Face Contempt
By Jerromie S. Walters
GREENVILLE, Sinoe County – The Third Judicial Circuit Court in Sinoe County has issued an order demanding that Liberia’s Minister of Gender, Children, and Social Protection Minister Gbeme Horace-Kollie, produce three alleged rape survivors by Monday, June 1, 2026, or risk contempt proceedings.
Judge Cllr. Wesseh A. Wesseh, Sr., the assigned Circuit Judge, directed his Chief of Court, Cyrus Tuwuon Johnson, to issue the order to Minister Horace-Kollie and the Sinoe County Gender Coordinator. The court’s action follows alleged repeated failures to locate the alleged survivors whose cases have languished for two consecutive court terms while three men remain jailed without trial.
The three defendants—Festus Menneh, Honest Duo, and Alphonso Karway—were individually indicted for statutory rape and have remained in pretrial detention since August 2025, nearly ten months ago. The court assigned their cases for hearing twice: once during the previous court term and again during the current term. On both occasions, the alleged victims failed to appear.
According to court records, the Sinoe County Gender Coordinator—whose office bears responsibility for locating and supporting the alleged victims—cannot find the survivors. The coordinator allowed the alleged victims to return to their home communities after the county’s only safe home in Greenville ceased functioning.
The order demands that Minister Horace-Kollie and the county coordinator bring the alleged victims to court on Monday, June 1, 2026, to testify. Furthermore, the court warned that if the victims do not appear, it will hold both officials in contempt of court or order the immediate release of the defendants from pretrial detention. A copy of the order was delivered to the Ministry of Gender in Monrovia. The ministry has not yet issued a public response.
Under Liberian law (Chapter 14, Section 14.70 of the Penal Law), rape is defined as intentionally penetrating without consent. First-degree rape—which includes statutory rape (victims under 18), gang rape, and rape with weapons or severe injury—is a non-bailable capital offense punishable by up to life imprisonment.
In simple terms, rape is committed when a person intentionally penetrates the vagina, anus, mouth, or any other opening of another person’s body without their consent. Consent is legally impossible to obtain if the victim is under the age of 18. Liberia categorizes rape into two degrees based on the circumstances of the crime: First-Degree Rape and Second-Degree Rape.
For First-Degree Rape, this felony carries a maximum sentence of life imprisonment and is non-bailable. It applies if: the victim is less than 18 years old and the perpetrator is an adult, the crime involves gang rape, the perpetrator used threats, firearms, or other deadly weapons, or the assault results in permanent or serious bodily injury.
On the other hand, Second-Degree Rape carries a maximum sentence of 10 years imprisonment and applies when the specific aggravating conditions listed above are not met. The penal law Defines Gang Rape: as purposefully promoting, facilitating, or engaging in a rape carried out by more than one person. All involved individuals face the same charges and penalties, even if only one person committed the physical act.
