Monrovia – The ECOWAS Court of Justice has ordered the Republic of Liberia to pay Counsellor Kabineh Muhammad Ja’neh, an impeached Judge of the Supreme Court of Liberia, the sum US$200, 000 as reparation for moral prejudice suffered for the violation of his rights.
By Gerald C. Koinyeneh, [email protected]
Delivering judgment on Tuesday in a case filed by Associate Justice Ja’neh, the Court also ordered the Republic of Liberia to restore, calculate and pay him all his withheld entitlements, including salaries, allowances and pension benefits as from the date of his impeachment to the date of notification of this judgment.
It further ordered his reinstatement as an Associate Justice of the Supreme Court or in the alternative, to grant him the right to retire from service on the date of notification of this judgment with full pension benefits as if he had retired at the normal retirement age for justices of the Supreme Court.
Background of the Case
On March 29, 2019, Associate Justice Ja’neh was found guilty by the Senate following his impeachment by the House of Representatives in August 2018 on four counts, including his issuance of a writ of prohibition as petitioned by major petroleum dealers in the country to stop the government from collecting levy/taxes of US$0.25 (road fund) imposed on the pump price of petroleum products.
He was also accused of stealing the records of the House of Representatives and using his power to unlawfully claim the property of a woman believed to be in her 90s.
During the controversial impeachment trial which was presided over by Chief Justice Francis S. Korkpor, Sr., the Senate acquitted Ja’neh of all the charges, except, the road fund case, thus warranting his impeachment.
Ja’neh, through his lawyer prayed the Supreme Court not to admit the verdict into the Senate’s records because the procedure used to impeach him was unconstitutional, but his request was denied. He vowed to seek redress at the ECOWAS Court.
Justice Ja’neh Requests US$25 Million for Damages
In the lawsuit filed against the Republic of Liberia, Justice Ja’neh urged the ECOWAS Court to award general damages in an amount not less than US$25 million as compensation and an order directing the Republic of Liberia to restore him to his position of Associate Justice of the Supreme Court of Liberia.
He also asked the Court to declare that the entire Impeachment trial, conviction and replacement on the Supreme Court constitute violations of his rights to fair hearing, dignity of his person and work under equitable and satisfactory conditions, among others.
In suit no: ECW/CCJ/APP/33/19 at the ECOWAS Court, Justice Ja’neh, the Applicant, through his Counsel, Mr. Femi Falana as head of six other lawyers, alleged that his removal violated his human rights, particularly the right to fair hearing and impartial trial, right to work and dignity of person guaranteed by the African Charter on Human and Peoples rights and the Universal Declaration of Human Rights.
Most importantly, Ja’neh said that his purported impeachment, trial, conviction and removal from office and replacement violated the Liberian Constitution.
The applicant further alleged that the Respondent subjected him to impeachment proceedings with no Prescribed Rules of Procedure, thereby depriving him of his fundamental rights to fair hearing as stipulated in the 1986 Liberian Constitution.
He said when the impeachment trial commenced at the Liberian Senate on February 13, 2019, he filed a motion, asking that Chief Justice Korkpor should not preside over the trial since he signed the Judgment of the Supreme Court in a case that was listed as one of the grounds for his impeachment.
He submitted that allowing the Chief Justice to preside would be tantamount to a conflict of interest with the possibility of bias as he was involved in several facets of the impeachment proceedings and was expected to recuse himself in order to adhere to the tenets of justice.
But to his surprise, the Chief Justice denied his application and instead, proceeded to preside over the applicant’s impeachment trial.
According to him, under Chapter VII, Article 72 (B) of the 1986 Liberian Constitution, he was guaranteed the holding and protection of office as Associate Justice during good behavior until the age of seventy (70).
Defense Lawyer Say Court is Incompetent to Rule
In defense, the Government, serving as the respondent, through its lawyer, denied violating the human rights of Justice Ja’neh and argued that his impeachment was done through a political process which also followed the due process of law as laid down in Section 43 of the 1986 Constitution of Liberia.
The Liberian Government urged the Court to declare that the application is inadmissible because the Community Court is incompetent to review, interpret and apply the national constitution and domestic laws of Member States.
The Court’s Verdict
In the judgment, a panel of three judges of the Court led by Justice Edward Amoako Asante, contrary to the argument of the government said, the Court found the matter admissible and within its Jurisdiction, and stated that it has clearly established violation of the Applicant`s right to fair hearing and right to work.
Delivering judgment on Tuesday, the Court ordered the Republic of Liberia, to restore, calculate and pay to the Applicant all his withheld entitlements, including salaries, allowances and pension benefits as from the date of his impeachment to the date of notification of this judgment.
The Court further ordered his reinstatement as an Associate Justice of the Supreme Court or in the alternative, to grant him the right to retire from service on the date of notification of this judgment with full pension benefits as if he had retired at the normal retirement age for justices of the Supreme Court.
In addition, it ordered the government to pay the sum of US$200,000 as reparation for moral prejudice suffered for the violation of his rights.
‘Political Witch-hunt’
The impeachment of Justice Ja’neh has been viewed by many observers and legal minded Liberians as a political witch hunt initiated by the ruling establishment through its partisans’ lawmakers at the 54th Legislature.
Those sentiments were echoed when news of the ECOWAS Court’s verdict broke on Tuesday.
“I have always held that Ja’neh’s removal from office was certainly more of a political witch hunt because of his dissenting opinion in December 2017 in the Liberty Party case,” said Adolphus Gaye, who claimed to be one of Ja’neh’s kinsmen from Nimba County.
“He was not in favor of the CDC. So they have been looking for the opportunity the get him off the bench. But with the ECOWAS Court’s ruling, it has shown their true colors. The CDC is made up of a group of desperate people who go after anybody that does not seek their interest,” Gaye said in an interview with FrontPage Africa.
A former student leader, Mohfel Dekpah, also from Nimba County, said the court’s ruling clearly shows that justice is not fairly dispense in Liberia.
Mr. Dekpah argued that the Constitution clearly states that members of the judiciary cannot be removed from office for decisions made in the course of their duties as judges, yet Justice Ja’neh was booted out for his judgment render while serving as Justice in chambers.
He said the act has the propensity to scare away potential investors from coming to Liberia.
“It is a very sad day for Liberia, a very sad day for our justice system. It clearly states that our country has been a lawless country,” he said, but at the same time celebrating the ruling in favor Justice Ja’neh.
Rep. Samuel Kogar of Nimba County Electoral District #5, responding to the news, said “It’s a very good news for us, as Nimbaians”.
Rep. Kogar, was among all of Nimba County’s nine members of the House of Representatives that walked out of session on August 18, 2018 before the vote for the impeachment of Ja’neh was taken.
The Nimba County Caucus’ walkout was in protest of the ‘wrongful proceeding’ over the matter.