Sayma Syrenius Cephus: A Solicitor General or a Scam Genius? – 10 Hard Truths
By Martin K. N. Kollie
Contributing Writer
The Perspective
Atlanta, Georgia
January 20, 2020
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| Cllr. Sayma Syrenius Cephus - Is this really a son of the famous Pay Me Weah? Please stop disgracing the famous man because he was not corrupt. He was paid what he earned honestly. |
The new Solicitor General (SG) of Liberia is a full package of fraud who has zero reputation. The SG has a stamp of scam on his forehead and he carries baggage of blemish on his back. Cllr. Sayma Syrenius Cephus has become an infamous henchman for CDC and president GMW.
The fact is, this ‘hit-man’ is a bona fide rascal with a felonious past. Cephus, a maestro hustler, epitomizes blackmail and scheme. He is a byproduct of THE LEGAL PROFESSION who lacks every ounce of integrity and moral decency to even preside as Solicitor General of Liberia.
Is Syrenius Cephus really a Solicitor General (SG) or a Scam Genius (SG)? The latter would suffice in my opinion. Here are 10 reasons or hard truths about why Cllr. Sayma Syrenius Cephus is a ‘Scam Genius’:
2. The Supreme Court suspended ‘Scam Genius’ Syrenius Cephus from practicing law for 3 months (April 7, 2015 – July 7, 2015) after he was found guilty of misconduct and for misleading his clients. The Court described his action as “contemptuous” and “grave”.
3. Cephus was arrested and jailed on charges of sedition, criminal libel, and malevolence in December 2009 after accusing ex-President Ellen Johnson-Sirleaf of supplying arms to dissident forces in Guinea. He spewed out such wild claim and bald-faced lie in an effort to extort.
4. While serving as Publisher, ‘The Plain Truth Newspaper' owned and operated by Sayma Syrenius Cephus, was propaganda machinery primarily used to blackmail and extort money from prominent and reputable characters. The Press Union of Liberia (PUL) even suspended Cephus for unethical practices contrary to the canons of journalism. His “Plain Truth Newspaper” has been DEAD for more than a decade now.
5. Cephus has been hooked several times in cases of ‘Conflict of Interest’ especially ones involving scandals and duplicities. Lately, he served as the lead lawyer of Sable Mining CEO Andrew Grove after CEO Grove was indicted for bribery and economic sabotage by a grand jury in June 2016. When Cephus became Solicitor General in July 2019, all charges were clandestinely dropped against Grove and Sable Mining. How come?
6. The ‘Scam Genius’ Cephus has been and remains a visible danger to Liberia’s democracy especially press freedom. Before Cephus’s confirmation as Solicitor General, he threatened to go after critics of President Weah, including journalists, on OK FM 99.5 in June 2019. He justified his threat by saying, “There is a distinction between free speech and free lies”.
7. Cephus was the mastermind of Associate Justice Kabineh J’aneh’s illegal impeachment. He was the lead lawyer of the House of Representatives in this unconstitutional process. This henchman was executing Weah’s dictatorial order. Like Cephus was a henchman to former rebel leader Charles G. Taylor of NPFL, so he is to ex-Soccer Star George M. Weah of CDC. Of course, he fed on crumbs from NPFL’s rebellious warfare.
8. For this ‘scam genius’, he considers the legal profession as a profiteering enterprise. He often places money above moral. So, he has served as a lawyer for almost every political party including the True Whig Party (TWP), National Party (NPP), Congress for Democratic Change (CDC), Movement for Progressive Change (MPC), etc. This tells you the extent to which Sayma Syrenius Cephus is a licensed hustler. He represents just anything and falls for just everything. His scandalous transition from an unethical journalist to an unprincipled lawyer is of no surprise. The Office of Liberia’s Solicitor General is being impugned.
9. Global Witness, an internationally acclaimed London-based anti-graft watchdog, vehemently rejected Cephus’s nomination as Solicitor General and cautioned The Liberian Senate not to confirm him through an official press statement released in June 2019. This says a lot about his scandalous reputation both locally and internationally.
10. Though ‘Scam Genius’ Cephus has been practicing Law since May 2006 (13 years 9 months) after obtaining an LL.B. from UL in 2006, he has lost most of his cases. He isn’t a seasoned, honest, and reliable lawyer for clients to depend on. Cephus escaped contempt charges again in June 2018 after he was made to apologize to Justices of the Supreme Court for his unruly behavior. This con artist of a lawyer is using the ‘Assets Investigation, Restitution, and Recovery Team (AIRReT)” to extort US$2.1 million from Liberia. He said in October 2019 that ‘AIRReT’ needs US$2.1 to recover US$4.6 billion. Isn’t Sayma Syrenius Cephus a ‘Scam Genius’?
These are some cases lost by ‘Scam Genius’ Syrenius Cephus:
- After dubiously collecting US$1000 from PUL with the assurance of winning its case, Cephus as a lawyer representing PUL lost against lawyers representing PUL Presidency Candidate Cholo Brooks and PUL Vice Presidential Candidate W. Omecee Johnson 2014.
- Charles Taylor’s prison transfer appeal case in 2015.
- He could not win the Sable Mining Case for his clients since 2016.
- He lost a case against NEC as a lawyer for a group of concerned citizens in 2011.
- NPP lost a case 2015 with Cephus as a lead lawyer, etc.
Just on Facebook alone, ‘Scam Genius’ Syrenius Cephus has 6 different accounts. This henchman of President George M. Weah is not only unfit in all forms, but he is an insignia of a credibility deficit. Cephus is morally impotent, legally incapable, academically deficient, and rationally insolvent. He is by far the worst Solicitor General our nation has known. The selection of Syrenius Cephus as Solicitor General was only intended to legitimize thievery and institutionalize witch-hunt under Weah’s kleptocracy.
Sayma Syrenius Cephus has misled president Weah on several legal matters. The latest was to file a request of extradition for Sierra Leone to turn Henry Costa over. This lawyer didn’t even know that there was no ‘extradition treaty’ between both countries. His latest move to even declare Costa as a ‘fugitive’ punctuates his ignorance in Law. To make matters worse, he went ahead threatening to issue an arrest warrant for Cllr. Findley Karnga who usually represents the legal interest of critics and social justice advocates. The threat of Cephus is ‘nolle prosequi’
This is laughable and mind-boggling. It seems like the highest qualifications required to serve in Weah’s government are incompetence, partisanship, patronage, and fraudulence. Henchman Sayma Syrenius Cephus is a beneficiary of this egregious precedent which continues to ruin our Country. Like Tweah and McGill, so is Cephus. The Republic is in TROUBLE. Patriots must stand up to rescue Liberia from perishing.
About The Author: Martin K. N. Kollie is a Liberian activist, columnist, and economist. He is a graduate of the University of Liberia with a B.Sc. in Economics and Political Science. Kollie is an avowed proponent of social democracy and economic freedom. He recurrently lives in exile and can be reached via martinkerkula1989@yahoo.com