Liberia · Courts
A Monrovia court has sentenced a former foreign minister to 10 years in prison over donated Saudi rice, and his defence says it will appeal.
Dee-Maxwell Saah Kemayah, Liberia’s former foreign minister, was sentenced to 10 years in prison on Friday, 13 November 2026, in the case over rice donated by Saudi Arabia for disaster victims, FrontPage Africa, a Liberian news outlet, and Smart News Liberia reported. His lawyers have said they will take the case to the Supreme Court of Liberia, according to FrontPage Africa.
The ruling ends the trial phase of a case over aid rice. It matters beyond Liberia because the aid was meant to feed vulnerable families, and because a Supreme Court appeal could now decide whether the convictions stand.
Key Facts
- The sentence Kemayah received 10 years in prison on Friday, 13 November 2026, at the Temple of Justice in Monrovia.
- The case Prosecutors allege 25,054 bags of Saudi-donated rice, worth about US$425,918, were diverted from disaster relief.
- The verdict A jury convicted eight of 13 defendants on 9 October 2026; three were acquitted.
- The appeal The defence has announced an appeal to the Supreme Court, Liberia’s highest court; this does not by itself cancel the sentences.
- Not known How many co-defendants received 10 years: two reports differ, and no court record is public yet.
What the Court Decided
Judge Ousman Feika of Criminal Court “C”, a trial court in Monrovia, sentenced the convicted defendants on 13 November at the Temple of Justice, FrontPage Africa reported. The same court had denied a defence motion for a new trial, heard on 6 November, after the defence argued that the jury’s findings did not match the weight of the evidence.
FrontPage Africa said Kemayah and some co-defendants received 10 years and other convicted defendants received five years. Smart News Liberia, a Liberian news site, reported that Varney A. Sirleaf, a former internal affairs minister, and other co-defendants were reportedly given 10 years each and ordered to repay the value of the rice.
The two reports do not agree on how many defendants received which term, and Smart News said the full ruling and the restitution amounts remained unclear. We therefore state only Kemayah’s 10-year sentence as reported by both outlets.
The Rice at the Centre of the Case
The King Salman Humanitarian Aid and Relief Centre, a Saudi aid agency, donated 29,412 bags of 25-kilogram rice in April 2023 for disaster victims and vulnerable communities, FrontPage Africa reported on 13 November. Prosecutors allege that 25,054 bags, valued at about US$425,918, were diverted from that purpose.
That is about 85% of the consignment (25,054 of 29,412 bags). The charges were theft of property, economic sabotage, misuse of public office, criminal conspiracy and misapplication of entrusted property.
The jury returned its verdicts on 9 October after a trial of more than 40 days, according to FrontPage Africa. Of 13 defendants, it reported eight guilty, three acquitted and no unanimous verdict on two, and the tallies may change when the court record appears; our earlier report on the verdicts covers that stage.
What Happens at the Supreme Court
FrontPage Africa said the appeal may test whether the trial court applied the law correctly, whether the evidence supported the verdicts and whether refusing a new trial was justified. The Supreme Court can uphold the judgment, reverse all or part of it, or order another remedy.
An appeal does not automatically undo a conviction or sentence, FrontPage Africa noted. No filing date or hearing date has been reported, so we cannot give a date for a ruling.
What It Means for Liberia
The sentences come from a prosecution pursued by the Asset Recovery and Property Retrieval Taskforce (AREPT), a government asset-recovery body, and the Ministry of Justice, the state bodies that brought the case. FrontPage Africa called the convictions and sentencing “a significant stage in the prosecution’s pursuit of accountability.”
If the Supreme Court upholds the judgment, the case would show that former senior officials can be jailed over relief supplies, which is how it could affect public trust. The defence takes the opposite view.
It argued at the 6 November hearing, as FrontPage Africa reported, that the jury’s findings were inconsistent with the weight of the evidence, and it now asks the Supreme Court to review that.
What Is Not Known
The reports do not name every defendant who received each sentence, and they give no restitution amount. We also found no published court record of the judgment, so details may change when the written ruling appears.
Two defendants whose jury verdicts were not unanimous remain subject to separate proceedings, according to FrontPage Africa. Their next court date was not reported.
Frequently Asked Questions
How long is Kemayah’s sentence?
Dee-Maxwell Saah Kemayah, Liberia’s former foreign minister, was sentenced to 10 years in prison on 13 November 2026, according to FrontPage Africa and Smart News Liberia. His lawyers have said they will appeal.
What was the Saudi rice case about?
Prosecutors say 25,054 of 29,412 bags of rice donated by Saudi Arabia in April 2023 were diverted from disaster relief. The bags were worth about US$425,918.
Will the sentence be appealed?
Yes. The defence has announced an appeal to the Supreme Court of Liberia, FrontPage Africa reported. An appeal does not automatically cancel a sentence.
Who else was convicted?
FrontPage Africa reported that a jury convicted eight of 13 defendants on 9 October 2026, including former internal affairs minister Varney A. Sirleaf. Reports differ on the term each received.
Sources: FrontPage Africa, 13 November 2026 (Kemayah, co-defendants appeal 10-year sentences); Smart News Liberia, 13 November 2026 (sentenced to 10 years). Read 14 November 2026.
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