By: Myean D Torgbean
The jury selection process in the high-profile Capitol Building arson trial involving former House Speaker J. Fonati Koffa and four co-defendants suffered fresh setbacks on Wednesday, November 19, after multiple prospective jurors again failed to appear, prompting strong punitive measures from the court.
Despite the disruptions, four additional jurors were selected on Wednesday, bringing the total to 11 following seven picked on Tuesday. But the process has continued to drag due to repeated absences and a wave of rejections from both prosecution and defense teams.
Court records show that the defense dismissed six prospective jurors through peremptory challenges, while prosecutors removed several others who admitted having personal or professional connections to lawyers on either side, or to defendants themselves, particularly Representative Dixon Seboe, whom several prospects said they knew from his community in New Kru Town.
With the court still short of the 15-member panel required, 12 regular jurors and three alternates, the impanelment remains incomplete.
Judge Roosevelt Z. Willie revealed that five prospective jurors were absent on Wednesday alone, including two who also failed to appear on Tuesday, November 18. The court subsequently ordered contempt actions and directed that two persistent absentees be remanded to the Monrovia Central Prison as the search for a full jury panel continues.
