Dear FrontPageAfrica,
Reconsideration for appointment of Judge Yousif Kaba to the post of Associate Justice, ECOWAS Community Court of Justice, Abuja, Nigeria, West Africa.
Please allow me space to share light on President Ellen Johnson Sirleaf’s desire of choosing Judge Yousif D. Kaba, current Judge of the Civil Law Court to replace Associate Justice M. W. Wright at the ECOWAS Community Court of Justice in Abuja, Nigeria.
Given the importance of this position and known that any person appointed should be sound-minded, the best, and brightest legal mind, to serve as the real face of the Liberian judiciary and the people of Liberia; I want to take this time to write and request that the President Sirleaf and her vetting committee consider the need to properly investigate these facts and the background of Judge Yousif D. Kaba prior to nominating and appointing him as Associate Justice to the ECOWAS Community Court of Justice.
History
It can be recalled that during the years between 1992 and 1997, Mr. Yousif D. Kaba and a colleague created and established a micro credit union in Monrovia with the aim of helping Liberian Business Women to apply for and acquire small business loans from the local commercial banks of Liberia. The office of this so-called credit union was situated and located on Coleman Hill opposite the Liberia Bank for Development Investment (LBDI) near Waterside, Monrovia.
During the short life of Mr. Kaba and his so-called credit union’s operation, Mr. Kaba and his partner held meetings with poor Liberian Market Women, connived and convinced them to deposit their hard-earned daily market monies with the credit union, concocting a scheme to steal from our poor and desperate Liberian Market Women in Monrovia under the pretext of soliciting and securing small business loans for them.
Under their grand designed scheme, Mr. Yousef D. Kaba and his partner then designed a plan and convinced the Liberian market women in Liberia at the time to invest in their so-called credit union by paying into this scheme for future benefits.
Mr. Kaba and his partner went around the market areas regularly, encouraged our poor and needed marker women to collect their market monies weekly and deposit such large amount of money into their credit union, promising them to solicit and secure small business loans for them to help develop and advance their businesses, mainly from markets places in and around Monrovia, Liberia. Under their grand design scheme, Mr. Yousif D. Kaba and his partner promised these Liberian Market small business loans without living up to their promises.
Hearing these promises and seeing a functioning office space opened and occupied and operated daily by Mr. Yousif D. Kaba and his partner, our poor and destitute Liberian Market Women began to deposit their hard-earned daily currencies into this scheme described as the Micro Credit Union.
Mr. Yousef D. Kaba and his partner promised to deposit their investments into various commercial bank accounts, where they were promised to get the Liberian Women small business loans by and through their efforts and connections at the local commercial banks.
However, after receiving large sums of money from these poor and needed Liberian Market women, Mr. Kaba and his partner shut down the office of their so-called credit union and disappeared and never to be found.
As God would have it, Mr. Yousif D. Kaba, resurfaced and through his connection to the Charles G. Taylor NPP-led Government, at the Ministry of Justice as Assistant Minister/Legal Counsel. When the poor Liberian Marker Women found that Mr. Kaba was now working at the Ministry of Justice, they showed up in large numbers and protested Mr. Kaba new role and position.
Being embarrassed by the number of Liberian Marker Women that showed up at his Ministry of Justice office, Mr. Yousif D. Kaba then sought and he was appointed Judge to Criminal Court “C”, Temple of Justice armed police daily protecting him as Judge of Criminal Court “C”.
When the women learned that Mr. Yousif D. Kaba was nominated and appointed as Judge of Criminal Court “C”, they again descended on his office and this stalemate went on for several months, with arm police protecting Mr. Yousif Kaba and his office at Criminal Court “C”, Temple of Justice, Monrovia, Liberia.
Madam President, this information is provided without malice and only intended to ensure that the integrity of any Liberian Lawyer nominated, appointed and expected to represent our Nation at such an important regional institution (The ECOWAS Community Court of Justice), is exempted from integrity issues and above reproach.
And therefore, in this public manner, I am writing to humbly request President Sirleaf and the Republic of Liberia to thoroughly investigate the background and behavior of Judge D. Kaba prior to appointing him to the ECOWAS Community Court as Associate Justice, representing the Government and people of Liberia.
Certainly, it would be imprudent and unwise for the Government of Liberia to recall Justice M. W. Wight from the ECOWAS Community Court of Justice for fraud and other improper behaviors and replace him with Judge Yousif D. Kaba with similar or worst character; particularly, Judge Yousif D. Kaba having defrauded poor and needed Liberian Market women years back.
We hope that your vetting committee will consider and ensure that Mr. Yousef Kaba (Judge Yousif D. Kaba) will be asked to provide clear and direct answers to the following questions about his past life:
1. Judge Yousif D. Kaba, prior to working for the Ministry of Justice as Assistant Minister of Justice/Legal Counsel and your nomination and appointment as Judge of Criminal Court “C”, did you ever operate and own a credit union or micro-credit loan office anywhere in Liberia?
2. Did you and your colleague ever collect monies from Liberian Market Women and deposit same into the account of your credit union at Liberia Bank for Development and Investment (LBDI) or any other bank at any time in Liberia?
3. Judge Yousif D. Kaba, did you and your partner ever own and operate a credit union on Coleman St, opposite the Liberia Bank for Development and Investment (LBDI) that collected Liberian Market Women’s money?
4. What ever happened to the Liberian Marker Women’s monies collected by you and your partner and deposited in the LBDI account of you and your partner’s so-called credit union?
5. Judge Kaba, do you remember ever been attacked by a group of Liberian Market Women for stealing or defrauding them of their hard-earned market monies that you and your partner weekly collected and deposited in the account of your credit union, promising these women small business loans from the local banks of Liberia?
6. Judge Yousif D. Kaba, did you pay back monies collected by you and your partner to the Liberian Market Women?
7. Judge Yousif D, Kaba, did you flee to President Charles Taylor and his Government to make you Judge to simply avoid the wrath of the Liberian Market Women whose monies you and your partner solely collected and deposited into your so-called credit union’s account?
8. Judge Yousif D. Kaba, do you remember the same group of Market Women attacking you at Criminal Court “C” for stealing their hard-earn market monies after you were appointed as Judge of Court “C” by President Taylor?
Madam President, I strongly do believe that Judge Yousif D. Kaba, is not fit and credible to represent Liberia at this very important regional body.
Tony Leewaye, Advocate for Social, Political and Economic Transformation of Liberia
[email protected]