Against the granting of the wish of the Government of Liberia by the Supreme Court ordering the National Election Commission not to certificate Mr. J. Brownie Samukai as an elected senator of Lofa County, youths of four Collaborating Political Parties(CPP) and the Lofa County citizens in solidarity with Senator-elect Brownie J. Samukai have described the ruling of Justice in-chamber Joseph Nagbe as provocative, blatant violation of the 1986 Constitution of Liberia and an affront to the rights of the people of Lofa County to be represented in the Liberian Senate by their duly Elected Person of their choice.
The CPP Youths and Lofa citizens in a Joint statement issued yesterday, said the ruling by Associate Justice Nagbe whom they described as a “Tribalist in chief”, Hence, can best be described as double jeopardy and a recipe for them to take actions that will compel the right things to be done, an action they said, they are prepared to do in defense of the popular mandate of the people of Lofa County to ensure that they are fully represented by whatever legal and political means available to them.
“We want to use this medium to extend our extreme thanks and appreciation to the great people of Lofa County for their resilience and patience over the last five months who because of their level of maturity have allowed themselves to be without full representation at the Liberian Senate as guaranteed under Article 45 of the constitution”, the statement said.
Continuing the release said “We herewith call and speak to the consciences of the full bench of the Supreme Court to take seizure of this matter and trash this provocative and conflict underling ruling of Justice Joseph Nagbe and allow the will of the people to prevail. The Supreme Court ruling shouldn’t and must not be the source and cause for dissatisfaction of THE PEOPLLE in whom the constitution has vested ALL POWERS in. The justices on the Supreme Court bench must remember that the last ruling is a right reserved for the people only”.
The CPP Youths and Lofa citizens further said they have come to categorically send a clear Caveat to President George M. Weah and his cronies to refrain from interfering with the decision of the Judiciary and allow them to impartially carry out their mandate.
The statement also indicated that the Friday July 9th 2021 ruling of Justice Joseph Nagbe has further validated the many accusation that our judiciary system under Chief Justices Francis S. Korkpor Sr. is no longer independent evidenced by the case involving Senator elect J. Brownie Samukai which has now become more political than been legal because they must deny a critical voice at all cost. It added that the Justice in chamber took almost three months to rule on matters that should have been decided based on the constitutional timeframe provision.
“Unfortunately, officials and stooges of this government are bent on showing Political strength and undermining the democratic values and principles of our country by attempting to deny the clear will of the thousands of Lofains who stood in the rain and sun to exercise their democratic franchise on December 8, 2020”, the statement said..
“These BASELESS, INDEFENSIBLE and RUTHLESS actions by the government, accomplished by some members on the Supreme Court bench are illogical, unlawful and have the clear potential to undermine our fragile peace; a peace that people like Justice Nagbe and his likes would do anything to see eroded. No wonder why the credibility of judges has been questioned, evidence by the chief justice himself acknowledging that Judges are corrupt and, in some instances, their decisions are being influenced by outside forces”, the statement further stated.
The statement said that additionally, the recent characterizations of the Judiciary, especially the Supreme Court as “an extension of both the executive and the legislative branches which required an overhaul”, citing an assertion by former Associate Justices Kabineh M. Ja’neh during his recent interview on the voice of America over his illegal removal clearly validate their case that the Judiciary is now for sale Under Chief Justice Francis S. Korkpor Sr.
While directing their grievances to Liberia’s international development partners which include the UN, the United States of America, the EU, AU, ECOWAS, etc, the CPP Youths and Lofa Citizens said, “ENOUGH IS ENOUGH! As you have invested millions and if not billions of Dollars in rebuilding our fragile DEMOCRACY, the Supreme Court of Liberia is now behaving like an auxiliary to the executive with Cllr. Joseph Nagbe and Yussif Kaba supervised by Chief Justice Korkpor under whose leadership the integrity and respect for the Supreme Court have vanished and is no longer a place to seek justice during this Footballer – George M. Weah’s Presidency”.
They noted that with such a terrible history of the current Supreme Court bench, they can safely say that the bench lacks the morals to dispense transparent judgments without fears and favors.
“On December 8 2020 the people of Lofa overwhelmingly voted Brownie J. Samukai as their choice for the Senate and therefore, expect nothing less than Certification of their Senator elect. Anything less than that will be a history that will be taken to the doors and windows of the Conspirators and co-conspirators who are bend on nullifying the decision of people of Lofa. Let perpetrators be reminded by history of the final resting places of tyrants and traitors of Justice. This we will do with no regret for we have no respect for people who chose to ignore the judgment of the majority of the people and the organic law of the land”, the groups pointed out.
The groups said that the government must be reminded that “HISTORY is a raw material that can be used for Political analysis. When Samuel K. Doe was President of the Republic of Liberia and some citizens, especially the people of Nimba, felt TARGETED, INTIMIDATED, HARASSED and KILLED, the rest is history that everyone will never forget”. They stressed that let the Supreme Court be independent for once and stop annoying the people as their resilience and kindness shouldn’t be seen as their weakness or cowardice.
The statement said they are calling on other Civil Society groupings, The Lofa Legislative Caucus, Lofa Youth Caucus, The Lofa Bar Association and the CPP on whose ticket senator-elect SAMUKAI was elected to join this effort in making sure that Lofa be fully represented at the Liberian Senate.
“This action against the majority is the second experiment the government is conducting after using the Supreme Court and the legislature to illegally remove Justice Kabineh M. Ja’neh: an action that has brought so much shame and disgrace not only on our judiciary system but the entire governance system of the country. If we allow this to succeed, they (Government) can now be assured and confident that during the 2023 General Presidential and Legislative elections, they will get away with rigging our Elections. But let history be our judge that this experiment will NEVER work with the People of Lofa County”, the statement said.
The groups further said as they closely join hands in battling the deadly Coronavirus, they will remain patient in the supreme interest of the people but, will not allow this government that has no respect for the constitution to tie their political action to COVID-19 law violations and “if the voices and choice of our people are not heard in days, we will be left with no other alternative but to begin several unannounced and unspecified political actions”.
“All of the above actions will be done to demonstrate our preparedness to defend the constitution and the rights of the people of Lofa County full representation at the National Legislature (senate)”, the statement concluded.
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