CORRUPTION IS THE ENEMY WITHIN – Cllr. Brumskine Raps Lawyers on How Corruption Steals Nation’s Soul, Desecrates Law, Justice

MONROVIA – Liberian lawyers, through their umbrella organization, the Liberia National Bar Association, last Friday, April 4, 2025 celebrated Law Day, inviting to the rostrum as the keynote speaker one of their own professional kin and kith, Cllr. Charlyne Brumskine, who is also a noted politician, being vice presidential candidate in the 2023 elections. Daughter of an ace jurist and iconic politician, Cllr. Charles Walker Brumskine, Madam Brumskine who is also deeply ingrained with the legal-politico gem, seized the moment last Friday when she thrilled her audience on the niceties of the Liberian legal and political ecosystem, zeroing on how corruption has placed a stranglehold on the growth and development of the profession specifically, and the country generally. The Analyst reports. 

Liberian jurist and politician, Cllr. Charlyne Brumskine, has opined that despite the helpful role of the Liberian legal system in the sustenance of justice, democracy, peace, and development, there is a roving enemy within the system, eating its fabric – corruption.

Speaking during the celebration of Law Day by Liberian lawyers, under the aegis of the Liberian National Bar Association (LNBA) last weekend in Monrovia, Madam Brumskine called on lawyers to continue to be the fiercest guardians of the Liberian legal system which is  “our collective conscience and is the soul of the Republic of Liberia”.

She reminded lawyers in audience, however, that they do have an enemy within the legal system, corruption, which desecrates the profession.

Corruption in the legal sector is not merely a flaw, it is a betrayal, she noted, adding that “it erodes public trust, it compromises the impartiality of our institutions, and it sends a dangerous message: that justice can be bought, delayed, or denied”.

Brumskine said when a bribe changes the course of a case, when a file goes missing mysteriously, and when influence overrides evidence, “we do more than commit an injustice. We break faith with the people we are meant to serve”.

She continued: “Corruption does not only damage individual cases—it damages the entire legal ecosystem. It undermines the credibility of the bench, the integrity of the bar, and the very concept of the rule of law. And so we must constantly ask ourselves—not just as individuals, but as a legal community.”

She called on Liberian lawyers to be bold in their honesty, to be brave in their reforms, for according to her, “a legal system cannot protect rights, cannot offer redemption, and cannot call itself sacred if it is for sale”.

Corruption may offer quick rewards, the former 2023 vice presidential candidate asserted, adding: “It also steals from our nation’s soul”.

Every bribe taken is a brick removed from the foundation of trust, she continued. “Every dishonest act is a delay in our destiny. What does a profit a man if he gains the whole world but loses his soul?”

She urged her colleagues to be “incorruptible, unshakable, and be the example the nation needs”. She added: “Let your word be your bond, your name be your honor, and your legal practice be your prayer for a better Liberia.”

As if the Liberian legal luminary was “throwing talk” at Finance Minister Ngafuan who suggested at one point that Liberians should prayer against creeping inflation in the country, Cllr Charlnye Brumskine said: “Our prayer for a better Liberia is not enough just in words. We must put our hopes into action. We must manifest the very thing we so desire of Liberia. Every day, we groan and mumble about the deteriorating systems in Liberia. Still, we fail to look in the mirror at the contributing role each of us plays in its deterioration.”

She called on the LNBA to build a culture among lawyers where no lawyer is above the law, and no judge is beyond question.

“Where our systems—our disciplinary committees, our courts, our county bar associations—do not just protect us, but challenge us to live up to the oath we took,” Madam Brumskine further added. “Accountability is not an attack on our profession—it is a blessing to it. It tells the people: you can trust us. And trust is the true currency of justice!”

Speaking of accountability amongst lawyers and within their organization, she asserted: “So let us not fear accountability—let us embrace it. Let us demand it of ourselves, our colleagues, and our institutions—not with hesitation but with boldness. Because where accountability flourishes, corruption dies, and the law begins to breathe again.”

Peer Review and Mentorship

She also spoke strongly about the need for peer review and mentorship, advising that senior lawyers must actively mentor the younger ones, not only in craft, but in character.

He said: “Create safe spaces for honest conversations about ethics, boundaries, and dilemmas. Let our wisdom be shared, not hoarded. I know that at every formal gathering of the bar, we have designated seating for Senior Counsellors. Can our Senior Counsellors begin to have monthly meetings where experiences are shared with the younger lawyers or with lawyers who are struggling with ethical issues?”

Active and Empowered Ethics Committees

Madam Brumskine used the occasion to call for strengthening the disciplinary bodies within the LNBA and the county bar associations, adding that these committees must be independent, responsive, and respected.

She urged that complaints should be handled swiftly and transparently—not buried in silence or bureaucracy, and that the local or county bars should have active discussions around ethics and corruption.

Courtroom Decorum and Conduct Reporting

Speaking of courtroom decorum and conduct reporting, the top Liberian female lawyer also indicated that judges and colleagues must speak up when lawyers abuse court processes, disrespect proceedings, or engage in unethical behavior.

Silence is complicity, he noted, calling on lawyers to continue to provide ongoing legal education in a very practical sense.—not just theory, but real-life case studies. Teach not only what the law says but how lawyers feel tempted to twist it—and how to resist.

“Let the public see that we police our own,” he continued. “When justice is seen to be done, trust grows. When we discipline one of our own, we show Liberia that the law is still sacred.”

Madam Brumskine admonished that a nation that “continues to rise from the challenges of its past and shape its place in a complex global future, your role—our role—has never been more urgent or more sacred”.