By Socrates Smythe Saywon
MONROVIA – Judge Joe Barkon of Criminal Court “C” on Friday, August 1, 2025, ruled that Abdullah Kamara, former acting Chairperson of the Liberia Telecommunications Authority (LTA), should not have been named or held as the corporate officer representing Tamma Corporation in the case involving over US$3 million in alleged economic sabotage.
In his ruling, Judge Barkon emphasized that Kamara, no longer serving as CEO of Tamma Corporation, was wrongfully indicted. The court held that the indictment was improper, unlawful, and contrary to Liberia’s Association Law and established Supreme Court opinions. The judge noted that Tamma Corporation, as a distinct legal entity, currently has a new Chief Executive Officer and other corporate officers, who are responsible for asserting the corporation’s rights.
“The Liberia Anti-Corruption Commission (LACC) may have had probable cause to investigate Kamara individually,” Judge Barkon said, “but such an action should have been pursued separately, rather than charging him for actions allegedly committed by the corporation.”
The court therefore granted Kamara’s motion to be removed from the case. “It is the candid decision of this court that the motion to drop is and is hereby ordered granted, upheld, and sustained, and Abdullah Kamara is ordered dropped from the case,” Judge Barkon ruled, denying and dismissing the resistance filed by the state.
Kamara had filed the motion on July 17, 2025, arguing that he had relinquished the CEO position at Tamma Corporation more than a year ago and should not have been listed in the indictment. He described his inclusion as a “mis-joinder” and requested that the court remove him from the proceedings.
The indictment, as presented by the LACC, alleged that on May 18, 2023, in the absence of a written contract or scope of work, Co-defendant Edwina Zackpah, Chairperson of the LTA, authorized a payment of US$4,500 and L$22.5 million from the agency’s operational account to Tamma Corporation under the pretext of funding corporate social responsibility initiatives.
However, based on the court’s findings and the absence of direct evidence linking Kamara to any wrongdoing in the transaction, all charges against him were dropped. The court ordered the case removed from the active docket and restored Kamara’s liberty.
