MONROVIA – Cllr. Benedict Sannoh, one of Liberia’s renowned lawyers and onetime minister of Justice has fallen in hot water with aggrieved Citizens of Darblo Clan, Gola Konneh District, Grand Cape Mount County over his failure to provide adequate legal services after chopping mouth-watering Ninety Thousand United States Dollars, ($US90,000,00)for a Legal Retainer Agreement.

This has prompted them, and have taken him to court for a refund of at least some of the money. What is more worrisome according to Mr. Mohammed Daramie, spokesperson for the concerned citizens of the area, is demanding for additional US$25,000(Twenty-five thousand united states dollars).

There were some unsolved disputes between Citizens and the Bea Mountain Mining Company, (BMMC) concerning the implementation of the corporate mining agreement in the District. But following discussions between the citizens and the company, the dispute was later resolved and an amount close to US$2M was provided by the company in fulfillment of their agreement with the affected communities.

In a formal complaint filed against Cllr. Sannoh on Monday at the Supreme Court, the citizens mentioned that it was unprofessional for Cllr. Sannoh misled a segment of the people in Gola Konneh into believing that they have the legal capacity to engage him in a legal Retainer Agreement to provide legal services to the people of Gola Konneh.

The Citizens noted that by taking 20%, $US90,000,00  from an initial amount of USD450.00 contributed by Bea Mountain Mining Company for construction, maintenance, and rehabilitation of schools and clinics,  Cllr Sannoh has effectively deprived the people of Darblo Clan, Gola Konneh District schools and clinics to the value of said amount.

“This egregiously, morally, and ethically wrong and it is a flagrant violation of Role 16 of the Code for the Moral and Ethical Conduct of Lawyers”, the Citizens noted in the legal document.

The aggrieved citizens pointed out that Cllr. Sannoh did not provide any legal service to the fees charged and he got the money.

The locals indicated that during the negotiations at the Ministry of Labor, Team Leaders of various communities represented themselves and there was nothing Cllr. Sannoh said at those negotiations and no representations was done by him.  

The citizens in their complaint expressed fear that the open Legal Retainer Agreement which Cllr. Sannoh misled them that will be misused to file claims on behalf of Gola Konneh District with the hope that some monies might be paid and will get 20% of whatever is paid.

The Citizens are requesting, therefore, a thorough investigation into the conduct of Cllr. Sannoh.  So far validity of the Legal Retainer Agreement is concerned and so far the disproportionate fees charged by him for services with BMMC for compliance with Regulation 9.3 of the Exploration with the view of compelling him to reimburse to the people of Gola Konneh District the entire amount $US90,000,00 (Ninety Thousand United States Dollars). 

Mr. Daramei extended his case to the media when he appeared on state radio Tuesday. He said, “the people of Gola Konneh are not satisfied with the form and manner Benedict Sannoh robbed them. Benedict Sannoh who happens to be a one-time Minister of Justice in Liberia misled the people of Gola Konneh district and did not give them the rightful information.”

It can be recalled that the people of Gola Konneh district in Grand Cape Mount County received from Bea Mining Company an amount of nearly US$2m. Said amount is in line with the understanding of the company to give only to the affected communities; which is not the same as the County Development Fund.

“Legally, you should take what you worked for. But he did not work for it.  He worked for less than a week for the people of Gola Konneh district.

To authenticate his claim, the presenter of the show said he spoke with Cllr. Sannoh on Monday and admitted of receiving the amount as his legal fees.  Cllr. Sannoh is accusing Senator Varney Sherman of Grand Cape Mount of one instigating the citizens to take such action.

He has however told the presenter that he would address the case on Wednesday.

But Cllr. Sherman, when contacted by the presenter of the show last week, he declined to comment on the matter.

Monrovia – Liberian President Ellen Johnson-Sirleaf is said to be facing a difficult dilemma over who to appoint as her next Minister of Justice, FrontPageAfrica has learned.

While it is unclear how far the President is on closing in on her decision, some political observers fear it could resurrect old wounds between the President and the party chair who has expressed his unflinching support for Vice President Joseph Boakai.

A void was created following the resignation of Cllr. Benedict Sannoh, who stepped down in the wake of the poor handling of the investigation into the death of Mr. Harry A. Greaves, the former Managing Director of the Liberia Petroleum Refining Company.

President Sirleaf accepted Mr. Sannoh’s resignation but urged him to remain available to serve his Country in other capacities as the need may arise.

It had been widely speculated that Liberty Party chairman Cllr. J. Fonati Koffa had gotten the nod to become Sannoh’s replacement in the Sirleaf-led government, but Executive Mansion sources now say it is looking increasingly likely that the President is leaning in another direction. It is that direction that is the crux of Sirleaf’s dilemma.

Cllr. Johnny Momoh, a former partner in the Sherman and Sherman Law Firm is said to be in the driving seat to become Sannoh’s replacement. But some political observers say, the decision could come at a costly gamble for Sirleaf.

Momoh was recently expelled from Sherman & Sherman fuelling a major rift with Cllr. Varney Sherman who also happens to be the Chair of the ruling Unity Party.

Cllr. Sherman has had an on-again; off-again strain relationship with Sirleaf and the appointment of his Nemesis may not go down well in the aftermath of recent interventions to mend ties between the party chairman and the incumbent President.

FrontPageAfrica has learned that following Cllr. Momoh’s falling out with the UP chair, Momoh took Sherman and Sherman to the Ministry of Labor for unpaid benefits, claiming that the firm owed him money.

Sherman & Sherman, according to sources challenged Momoh at labor and the lawyer later withdrew his complaint. “He claimed the firm owned him money but he lost his case at labor.

However, it is my understanding that the lawfirm will pay him what is due him anyway, three times more than what the law requires,” said a source with knowledge of the situation, speaking to FrontPageAfrica on condition of anonymity.

Momoh’s appointment could also trigger a major confirmation showdown where Cllr. Sherman who is also chair of the Senate Judiciary committee will be presiding.

Momoh was elevated at the Sherman firm to Staff Counsel in December 1999. He accepted and served in this capacity for one year when he was elevated to the position of Assistant Counsel in 2000.

By 2005, Counselor Momoh was again promoted to the position of Senior Counsel, skipping the position of Senior Associate Counsel. In addition to his general responsibilities as a trial lawyer, he served as the Resident Legal Counsel for the Firestone Plantations Company, one of the firm’s most valued clients.

Counsellor Momoh is an honour graduate of Cuttington University College, now Cuttington University with a B.A. degree in History (1986) and graduate of the L. A. Grimes School of Law, University of Liberia (1996).

Immediately after his first degree, Counsellor Momoh served as secondary school teacher, first at St. Augustine Episcopal High School and then the Holy Cross Mission School (1987 – 1988).

He later moved to Monrovia to become a History instructor at the University of Liberia (1989 – 2000).  It was while in this last position that he attended Law School.

Prior to his expulsion, Cllr. Momoh managed the litigation department of Sherman & Sherman. In 2006, in addition to being Senior Counsel, Cllr. Momoh became a partner of Sherman & Sherman.

Reports of strain ties between President Sirleaf and Cllr. Sherman has been ongoing for some time now but heightened during the 2014 Senatorial elections during which Sirleaf reportedly threw her support behind Sherman’s rival in the Grand Cape Mount Senatorial race, incumbent Senator Abel Massalley.

Sirleaf also endure criticism for allegedly lobbying against Sherman’s Pro Temp effort following his certification by the National Elections Commission.

Political blogger Darius Dillon took the President to task in the aftermath of those elections and accused the President of making Sherman a lame duck Chairman of the ‘Ruling Unity Party’, running an empty ‘vessel’.

Dillon was among scores of politicians to accuse Sirleaf of undermining Sherman by supporting another candidate so that he would not win.

While it is unclear how far the President is on closing in on her decision, some political observers fear it could resurrect old wounds between the President and the party chair who has expressed his unflinching support for Vice President Joseph Boakai.

With the party already divided on the direction for 2017 amid developing rivalry between Boakai and Dr. Toga Gayeweah McIntosh, one party insider said, Sherman may not take the appoint lying down and could see it as an affront to his leadership of the party and Boakai’s Presidential quest.

Rodney D. Sieh, rodney.sieh@frontpageafricaonline.com

Monrovia – President Ellen Johnson-Sirleaf last Friday accepted the expected resignation of Benedict Sannoh as Minister of Justice, falling short of explaining why the man many regard as the most controversial and polarizing Attorney General in the Sirleaf administration was shown the door.

Although the President, in an Executive Mansion statement heralded Cllr. Sannoh’s “extraordinary legal talent” while expressing appreciation for his performance during the course of his duties as Minister of Justice and Attorney General; a series of events leading to the exiting minister’s demise, set in motion his exit from the Sirleaf administration.

Many political analysts agree that Sannoh will infamously go down in the anal of history alongside the late Jenkins K.Z.B. Scott whose iron fist reign during the Samuel K. Doe presidency instilled fear amongst the press and ordinary Liberians.

Sannoh, firebrand human rights during the Charles Taylor-led era, according to Mr. Abraham Darius Dillon on his Intellectual Exchange Facebook discussion board, “violated more human rights and he cannot recall a serious case he successfully prosecuted and won on behalf of government under his administration.”

For Sannoh, it started with one of his first acts as minister when he ill-advised the President into in 2014 into signing Executive Order 65 which came under public ridicule and had to be revoked because of its undemocratic and unconstitutional contents.

The debate surrounding the controversial order was amplified after critics accused the government of orchestrating the order in a bid to give the President’s son, Robert Sirleaf an edge over football legend George Manneh Weah who went on to win the Montserrado County senatorial seat.

The Executive Order No. 65 ordered all concerted mass movements of people on the streets of Monrovia during the ensuing special elections, including in particular rallies, demonstrations and parades prohibited and for 30 days after the announcement of election results.

In March this year, the Supreme Court finally came down with a ruling on the matter, when Chief Justice Francis Korkpor clarified that there is no violation of the separation of power on the issuance of writs.

He said that the Supreme Court, the constitutional court has the inherent authority, pursuant to its judicial review, to determine and declare whether or not an act is in consonance with the manifest tenor of the organic law.

The Chief Justice stated that Article 65 of the constitution provides that “the judicial power of the Republic of Liberia shall be vested in the Supreme Court and such subordinate courts as the Legislature may from time to time establish. ”

He further stated that Article 66 provides that the Supreme Court is the final arbiter of constitutional issues and shall exercise final appellate jurisdiction in all cases, whether emanating from courts of records, administrative agencies, autonomous agencies or any other authority.

During his reign, Cllr. Sannoh failed to release preliminary or any form of report detailing the circumstances that led to Mr. Greaves’ death, relying instead, on pathologists’ report conducted under questionable circumstances.

Sannoh also came under fire when he threatened to prosecute journalists who engaged in reporting falsehood and rumors, referring specifically to the death of Greaves and the level of reporting by the media on the issue, amid fumbling by the government and conflicting accounts relating to the incident has again increased his attack against the media.

Following the publication of an internal medical examination performed by the John F. Kennedy Medical Hospital on the body of the late Greaves which corroborated media reports that the late Greaves had cuts on parts of his body, the Justice Minister moved a step further with his attack against the media, this time describing the reporting as reckless and irresponsible.

In the Michael Allison case, Sannoh raised eyebrows at a news conference to announce the result of an autopsy when he veered off the agenda, to reveal that the name Michael Allison was a fake identity that was being used by the late Atty. Michael Allison.

Sannoh told journalists that the actual identity of the late Allison was discovered during the period of investigation surrounding his death, when they found two passports bearing his picture and name Nkrumah Mozia Madin Mulmin, which traces him to being an American but fell short of detailing the actual cause of the lawyer’s death.

Many were also taken aback when Sannoh again ill-advised the President into pardoning a number of convicted offenders last December, particularly, the pardon of Shirat Nawladda, a Ugandan woman who was convicted for drug trafficking and sentenced to four years in prison.

Nalwadda, 26, was arrested on board a Kenyan Airways flight, in December 2013 with 2.5 kilograms of heroin at the Roberts International Airport (RIA). The heroin was valued at US$30,000 equivalent to L$2m

Her pardon raised a lot of eyebrows with many suggesting that it sent the wrong message to the rest of the world that Liberia has become a soft tissue for governance, accountability and transparency.

The pardon compounded Sannoh’s problems at justice with a twist of irony. The Monrovia Central Prison currently holds some 999 prisoners, 62% of them charged with serious crimes such as rape, murder, armed robbery, while 178 of the prisoners are already sentenced. The freed prisoners were being held of offenses such as ‘simple assault, aggravated assault, burglary, criminal facilitation, among others.

Releasing a convicted drug offender while many remain in jail with very little chance of trial drew criticisms on Sannoh who came in to the position with some big shoes to fill. His predecessor, Cllr. Christiana Tah parted company with the Unity Party led government in August 2014, citing what she termed as “complete collapse of the rule of law” in the country.

President Sirleaf in a recent FrontPageAfrica interview addressed the issue, stating that she can only pardon after conviction as required by law.

“So somebody has gone to court, they were judged, for example they filed an appeal as in one or two cases that are active right now before the Supreme Court, I can do nothing until their case is finished.

In one or two cases like the Ugandan, she has been convicted, she has served certain terms as a foreign national, and she is woman. So I pardoned her so that she can return home. It is very selective. I say it is only when it has reached the end of the road, they have exhausted the legal system as required by law.”

Sannoh was the fourth Attorney General appointed in the Ellen Johnson Sirleaf administration since 2006. The other four – Cllr. Christiana Tah Cllr. Philip A.Z. Banks, now an Associate Justice at the Supreme Court of Liberia and Cllr. Frances Johnson Morris.

His background in drafting several pieces of legislation, including the Independent Human Rights Commission Act; the Financial Institutions Act, and the Act creating the Central Bank of Liberia was seen as a plus to a credential badly needed to introduce reforms in the justice system and address the backlog of cases lingering at the ministry.

With President Sirleaf leaving the door open for a possible return for Sannoh who has been asked to remain available to serve his country in other capacities as the need may arise, Sannoh will more than likely land on the board of some company as others before him has, or head of a commission; but his tenure at justice has left much to be desired with a lot of missed opportunities at changing the tide of justice in a post-war nation battle unanswered questions in a system in a lingering and recurring state of uncertainty.

Monrovia – President Ellen Johnson Sirleaf has today received and accepted the resignation of Justice Minister, Cllr. Benedict Sannoh.

According to an Executive Mansion release, President Sirleaf expressed appreciation to Cllr. Sannoh for his extraordinary legal talent exhibited in the performance of his duties as Minister of Justice and Attorney General of the Republic of Liberia..

She has also urged Cllr. Sannoh to remain available to serve his Country in other capacities as the need may arise.

Meanwhile, President Sirleaf has requested the Deputy Minister for Administration and Public Safety at the Ministry of Justice, Cllr. Wheatonia Dixon-Barnes to act as Minister until a successor is named.