House approves KAK act of free speech
The House of Representatives on Tuesday, 3 July approved the passage of the Kamara Abdullah Kamara (KAK) Act of Free Speech.The House amended and modified the Liberian Codes Revised, Penal Law of 1978 of the Republic of Liberia Chapter 11, by repealing Section 11:11 on Criminal Libel Against the President; 11.12 on Sedition and 11.14 on Criminal Malevolence.
Members of the House of Representatives Tuesday unanimously approved the Kamara Abdullah Kamara Act of Press Freedom during its regular session that followed a report from the House’s Joint Committee on Information, Cultural Affairs and Tourism and Judiciary.
The bill was recently re-submitted to the 54th Legislature by President George Manneh Weah and was read in plenary on June 6, 2018. Following the reading of the instrument, it was sent to the appropriate committee to advice plenary.
According to the committee, several witnesses agreed with the President’s bill and urged the 54th Legislature to enact it.They agreed that the bill satisfies all internationally accepted and practiced norms of participatory democracy.
The committee says on the naming the law in honor of an individual, the committee found no such precedence and the expert view sought did not agree that it is the right thing to do.
By Bridgett Milton–Edited by Winston W. Parley
