Filed in by Olando Testimony Zeongar – 0776819983/0880-361116/life2short4some@yahoo.com
Monrovia – Amid accusation from the Economic Freedom Fighters of Liberia (EFFL), that President George Weah is the mastermind behind what the EFFL calls a well-calculated ploy to impeach Associate Justice Kabineh Ja’neh of the Supreme Court of Liberia, the Liberian leader on today appointed His Honor J. Boima Kontoe as Ad-Hoc Justice to sit in pending impeachment proceedings against embattled Justice Ja’neh.
In the wake of heated national hullabaloo over the ouster of Justice Ja’neh as Associate Justice of Liberia’s highest court, the EFFL in September, pointed accusing fingers at President Weah, charging the Liberian president s of allegedly being behind the impeachment process currently ongoing against Ja’neh.
A statement from the Executive Mansion said on Tuesday that in keeping with Article 67 of the Liberian Constitution, President Weah had appointed His Honor J. Boima Kontoe as Ad-Hoc Justice to sit in while the hearing and determination of a Writ of Prohibition in the matter brought against Justice Ja’neh by the House of Representatives of the National Legislature, by and through its Speaker, Bhofal Chambers, is concluded, but EFFL which says it shows no remorse for its claim against the Liberian leader, says it was unapologetic to evidently and reliably unearth that the Liberian chief executive is the orchestrator of the Ja’neh impeachment saga, which the group described as being a national disrespect,and a one it says is totally unorthodox and politically motivated.
Modeled after its South African counterpart the EFF of vocal politician and activist, Julius Malema, the EFFL in its strong-worded statement issued in early September, insists that President Weah, who the group refers to as Israel’s biblical days’ king, “SAUL”, is the chief orchestrator of the Ja’neh impeachment proceedings.
‘Why CDC wants Ja’neh impeached…’
At the time, the EFFL disclosed that Weah and his political establishment, the Congress for Democratic Change (CDC), want Ja’neh out of the Supreme Court Bench for several reasons, indicating that “SAUL”, as the group labeled the Liberian leader, and those the group referred to as followers of the president, have planned to impeach the embattled Associate Justice due to the fear of having an independent mind like Ja’neh on the High Court Bench.
Punch FM/TV online service recalls, that out of five Justices of the Supreme Court, Justice Ja’neh, was the only one to have excepted to the High Court’s ruling on the electoral fraud case filed by Liberty Party (LP) against the conduct of the 2017 general and presidential elections.
The Liberty Party and its ally, the former ruling Unity Party (UP) contended at the time, that the 10 October 2017 elections were marred by massive fraud, for which they wanted a rerun of the process.
The National Elections Commission at the time declared that former Vice President Joseph Boakai and President Weah, then Senator of Montserrado County, emerged as the two top candidates in the first phase of the 10 October 20-candidate presidential election. The CDC gained 596,037 votes, accounting for 38.4%, while the UP accumulated 446,716 votes, representing 28.8%, according to the NEC.
Following a period of a little over a month of legal battle between LP and the UP on one hand, and the National Elections Commission on the other, the Supreme Court ruled, acknowledging that the first round of the 2017 elections were to some extent, characterized by fraud, irregularities, and disregard of the country’s New Elections Law.
However, the High Court insisted that the irregularities that greeted the conduct of the elections were not weighty enough, on a scale that warranted a rerun of the entire electoral process as was being prayed for by the LP and UP, which alleged massive electoral fraud.
But Justice Ja’neh dissented to such opinion, stating at the time that his colleagues’ ruling in the electoral fraud case ignored the glaring discrepancies and evidence of gross irregularities during the October 10 polls that required a rerun of the entire electoral process.
The majority ruling, supported by Chief Justice Francis Korkpor, Associate Justices Philip A. Z. Banks, Sie-A-Nyene and Jamesetta Wolokollie mandated a runoff election as opposed to a rerun as prayed for by the LP backed by the UP.
The ruling read by now retired Associate Justice Philip A. Z. Banks said: “It is the considered opinion of this Court that the ruling of the NEC’s Board of Commissioners declaring a runoff election is hereby affirmed.”
Associate Justice Banks added that the Supreme Court at the time could not authorize a rerun as the evidence provided did not merit an annulment of the elections’ result.
But Justice Ja’neh countered that such conclusion reached by his colleagues that irregularities established by the Liberty Party and the Unity Party were not sufficient to invalidate the outcome of the elections is deeply disconcerting and frustrating.
“This position by my colleagues ignores the undeniable truth, most especially after one of NEC’s commissioners, Lamin Lighe, admitted to irregularities, but did not present evidence that demonstrated that these errors were corrected during the conduct of the elections.
“Also, the majority fully concedes, recognizes and accepts that there is a need to do a complete cleansing of the elections system which appellants complained were one of the reasons for irregularities and fraud but opted not to go for a rerun,” said Ja’neh.
He added: “And after the majority acknowledged that some fraud did occur and that NEC has a dirty voter roll, they convincingly ignored the size of the dirt that needs to be cleaned and disregard the impact, now recognized to exist, that it had on the elections.”
“Considering this dirt, my colleagues recognized, (and looking at its impact), I see this as a strict non-compliance with the Liberian Constitution and election laws,” said Justice Ja’neh, adding, “And the numerous acts by NEC or people in its employ were indisputably fraudulent and calculated to cheat. Some of these acts include the assignment of votes to candidates far exceeding the threshold of the votes for many polling places.”
At the time, Justice Ja’neh also said he was deeply troubled and perturbed by his colleagues’ attitude to have downplayed the “very crucial” plaintiff-witness testimony of US-trained Liberian IT/data expert, Jeff Gbleebo.
“The data expert’s analysis discovered two separate voter rolls and missing polling places amounting to some 35,000 registered voters and discovered 58 pages of voters registration numbering 200 voters; same ID number to multiple names,” Justice Ja’neh noted, stressing, “These testimonies of Gbleebo and other appellant witnesses stand no rebuttal by NEC, but my colleagues ignored it.”
Howbeit, the EFFL claims the CDC’s move to have Ja’neh impeached is anchored on numerous factors, including “Profusely supporting internal crisis within the National Patriotic Party (NPP) as a way of disfiguring the party and the Vice President. Thereby running the party insignificant to the coalition.”
Another reason given by the EFFL, as being responsible for the plot to have Ja’neh’s removed as Associate Justice of the Supreme Court is the party and the presidency “To have full control of the High Court (Supreme Court),” as well as “The illegal planned removal of Vice President Taylor as Vice President of Liberia.”
Still outlining reasons behind the plan to oust Ja’neh, the EFFL added that CDC intends to disorganize efforts that are capable of bringing to fruition the agreed understanding within the Coalition legal memorandum and to have control over future elections of fraudulent practices, and an “unconstitutional crisis” in the favor of the party.
“Furthermore, the Congress for Democratic Change (CDC) as dictated by “SAUL” has organized plans not to nominate Vice President Taylor as a running mate comes 2023 general and presidential elections pending negative results from their illegal struggle,” the EFFL statement said.
The group asserted that it is clear that Vice President Jewel Howard-Taylor will not resurface as running mate to President Weah on the (CDC) ticket for the country’s next presidential election slated for 2023, rationalizing that, VP Howard-Taylor will then go to the pending presidential poll as a candidate to oppose CDC – meaning, the ruling party’s votes will be divided – thus, giving strength to the opposition community through which the CDC will then run for help to the Supreme Court that might already be compromised.
‘Lower House slammed’
The group also took a jibe at members of the House of Representatives, who recently embarked upon an impeachment proceeding to oust Associate justice Ja’neh, stating that the EFFL “is also unapologetic to condemn the recent nonsense, self-centeredness and illegal impeachment proceeding and voting exercise demonstrated by pocket followers and dunk funded members of the House of Representatives.”
“EFFL with no regret distance the interest of the masses from said actions,” the group stressed.
On 28 August, out of 49 members of the House of Representatives, one lawmaker voted against, while nine members of Nimba County, from where Justice Ja’neh hails, staged a walkout, during parliamentary proceeding meant for Ja’neh’s ouster.
Two lawmakers of the ruling party, Montserrado County District #8 Rep, Acarous Gray and Montserrado County District #5 Rep, Thomas Fallah petitioned the Lower House to have Justice Ja’neh impeached.
The lawmakers alleged that Justice Ja’neh committed a serious official misconduct by engaging in a wanton and unsavory exercise of his judicial discretion far exceeding the bounds of elementary judicial interpretation of issues simply to satisfy his personal ego.
Both Gray and Fallah, according to their petition also wants Ja’neh ousted from the Full Bench of the Supreme Court for what they called “proved misconduct, gross breach of duty, inability to perform the functions of his office by allegedly allowing justice to be served where it belongs no matter the status of the party affected.”
Justice Ja’neh has since termed the lawmakers’ impeachment proceeding as an unlawful procedure, and he stands ready to resist same to the full length of the law.
Meanwhile, the EFFL has alerted members of the House of Senate that the group has received undiluted information about what it terms as the heavy flow of cash from President Weah and those the political movement called the president’s boys “to manipulate the Senate hard-earned reputation, and integrity, by profusely voting the direction contrary to Liberians’ anticipation.”
However, the EFFL says it still believes that the Senate is a place of integrity and a one constructively organized with rational individuals that regard the rule of law and the sanity of the Supreme Court, expressing the hope that such will be subsequently demonstrated by members of the House of Senate.
“The EFFL reliably count on you (The Honorable House of Senate) to unanimously reject the impeachment bill of Justice Ja’neh,” the group pleaded.
‘Cry to international community’
While warning the president of his action to allegedly mastermind Justice Ja’neh’s ouster from the Supreme Court Bench, which the group equates to undermining the country’s hard-earned democracy and international reputation, the EFFL called on Liberia’s international partners, particularly the Government of the United States, to closely monitor the country, indicating that under the Weah led government signals of bad governance has begun to surface, dictatorship is being natured as well as tyranny is appearing in the path of the administration.
“The EFFL is deeply troubled by the immature political occurrence in Liberia as there exists no future for the ordinary Liberians,” the group pointed out.
