LIBERIA: SENATOR ACQUITTED IN MURDER TRIAL

UNCLAS MONROVIA 000118 SENSITIVE SIPDIS C O R R E C T E D COPY CAPTION E.O. 12958: N/A TAGS: PGOV KRCM ASEC CASC PREL PHUM LI SUBJECT: LIBERIA: SENATOR ACQUITTED IN MURDER TRIAL ¶1. (U) SUMMARY. Margibi County Junior Senator Roland Kaine was acquitted of murder by Criminal Court "B" at the Temple of Justice in Monrovia on February 5. Senator Kaine was accused along with 15 others of murdering 21 youths in Grand Bassa County on June 7, 2008 in a land dispute. Six of the accused were also acquitted while eight others were found guilty. One of the defendants will be retried because jurors could not reach a decision on him. The Embassy is monitoring for possible demonstrations protesting the verdict. END SUMMARY. ¶2. (U) Senator Kaine was accused of ordering the murder of 30 youths who were hired by Charles Bennie, a founding member of the defunct Liberians United for Reconciliation and Democracy warring faction, to clear shrubs from a disputed strip of land in Timor village, Grand Bassa County. Following the clash, 17 bodies were found and four remain missing (the rest escaped). Kaine was a senior member of Charles Taylor's National Patriotic Front of Liberia warring faction. The land dispute between Senator Roland Kaine and Charles Bennie worsened after Kaine defeated Bennie in the race to become Senator of Margibi County during the 2005 general elections. Officials from the Ministry of Internal Affairs are reported to have earlier intervened in a bid to resolve the land dispute. ¶3. (U) Judge Yusuf Kaba of Criminal Court "B" read the jury's verdict and ordered that Senator Kaine and six others be immediately released from further detention. The verdict maintained that the prosecution did not show sufficient and convincing evidence linking Senator Kaine to the crime of murder. Sentencing of the eight convicted defendants will take place at a later date. No date has been set for the start of the retrial of the other defendant. ¶4. (U) There was a heavy police presence around the Slipway Community in Monrovia where most of the murdered youths hired by Charles Bennie lived, following the acquittal of Senator Kaine and six other defendants. Residents of the community have threatened to stage a demonstration against the acquittals, as they see Senator Kaine as the mastermind behind the deaths of 21 young men from their community. Residents of Slipway Community clashed with supporters of Kaine in November 2008 at the Temple of Justice who had gone to the court to demonstrate in solidarity with Senator Kaine. The Embassy is monitoring the situation. As of noon February 6 there were no signs of any public protest concerning the verdict. ¶5. (SBU) COMMENT: The government has not won any high profile convictions since it took office in 2006. It appears to us that these cases are driven by politics rather than the evidence. The poor preparation of the cases leads to the inevitable results. As a result of the lack of confidence in the justice system, there is a likelihood of violence erupting between supporters of Senator Roland Kaine and relatives and friends of the murdered youths sometime in the future. THOMAS-GREENFIELD