Monrovia; Gbarnga – The impeachment proceedings of Associate Justice Kabineh Ja’neh seem to be taking different trend by the day.
Report By Edwin G. Genoway, Jr [email protected] & Selma Lomax, [email protected]
Protests against the proceedings were staged on Thursday in Monrovia and Gbarnga cities.
In Monrovia, Economic Freedom Fighters (EFF) – a political movement – staged a protest at the capitol, while a hundreds of Muslims parading the streets of Gbarnga expressed stiff opposition to the impeachment of the associate Justice.
For the EFF, the impeachment process is not in the interest of the people of Liberia.
Since the start of the impeachment process, Liberians from all walks of life have been expressing mixed views about the process.
The protest led by the EFF called for the Senate to halt the impeachment process.
Thousands of Liberians stormed the grounds of the Capitol to grasp the attention of the legislature calling on that body to boycott proceeding.
Emmanuel Gounquoi, leader of the EFF, said the protest was for the protection the Constitution of Liberia.
“We are here to protect the constitution of Liberia that made an incompetent person a President; let the legislature stop the proceeding,” Gounquoi said, adding that the impeachment is “politically motivated”.
Several other civil society and religious groups joined the protest.
The Central Revolutionary Council, National People’s Assembly of Liberia, the Coalition of Muslim Organizations in Liberia, Vanguard Student Unification Party and the Democratic Watch Initiative all expressed frustration in the process.
Muslims Protest In Bong County
Meanwhile, in Bong County scores of Muslims on Thursday marched peacefully through the streets of Gbarnga in a show of solidarity for Associate Justice Ja’neh.
The crowd that set off Thursday included Imams of all the mosques in Gbarnga, and women leaders. It began with a minute’s prayer.
The Gbarnga main street was filled with colorful placards carrying slogans: “Halt the impeachment trial of Ja’neh for peace and stability”, “the impeachment is not for Justice Ja’neh alone, let’s stand up against it.”
Protesters began the procession while chanting: “Ja’neh is our only high-profile person in government and impeaching him would be a big blow to us.”
Organized by the Coalition of Islamic Organization of Bong County, the sit-in included speeches delivered by some association members in addition to playing some patriotic songs.
The chairman of the group, Sheikh Sheriff, said proceedings leading to the impeachment of Ja’neh is not only unconstitutional, but lack the basis for conviction.
“The march of thousands of participants in Bong County and other parts of the country sends a message that Muslims stand with Ja’neh,” he added.
He described the impeachment proceeding as a “direct attack” on the nation and social stability of Liberia. “This is an attack on the Muslim community and adherence to the rule of law,” he said.
Sheriff said the charges against Ja’neh are unfounded and lack substance. “This is also an attempt to reduce the Judiciary,” he said.
Ayouba Sheriff, who joined the Thursday protest, said: “We want to send a message to those who want to impeach Ja’neh and whoever is standing behind it, that we will never stop fighting for issues important to the judiciary, including the protecting one of our kinds.”
Layee Fofana, another participant, said he felt inspired to join the march because the Judiciary was under threat by Ja’neh’s impeachment proceedings.
“This is not about being a Muslim or not but I strongly feel that the Executive wants to control the Judiciary like what is being done to the House of legislature,’ he said.
“I was so happy to see people out. It makes me feel good that people are uniting for what they feel strongly about.”
Though intended primarily to show solidarity to Ja’neh, for most attendees it was also about expressing their forstruction about the hardship being faced in the country.
Hajah Sheriff, a marketer at the Gbarnga market who joined the protesters, lamented the economic hardship being faced in the country.
“I have to be truthful to you; what we have now is the situation where people increase prices because prices of imported items have increased,” she said.
“Do you know that some customers who hardly buy on credit, now sometimes buy to pay at a later date?”
A housewife, Ma Watta Kromah, corroborated Sheriff’s revelations, adding that “the situation is scaring”.
“I had most things at home and only went to the market with LD$ 600 only to discover that I could hardly buy much things. The prices of most food items have tripled, thereby affecting the purchasing power of most homes like me.”