Associate Justice Kabineh M. Ja’neh’s lawyer Cllr. Arthur T. Johnson says he is in danger in his campaign against lawmakers’ disrespect for the rule of law, announcing plans to complain to the US Embassy, UN Human Rights Office and other national and international bodies here.
Cllr. Johnson told the Prime Morning Drive hosted on Prime FM in Monrovia Thursday, 30 August that certain people including lawmakers and elements within the Ministry of Justice are calling for his arrest for alleged sedition.
But he insists that he is not prepared to flee Liberia, and as such he will do formal complaint to the U.S. Embassy, the U.N. Human Rights Office here, Liberia’s Independent Human Rights Commission, and other international bodies here about how he is “being surveillance.”
Cllr. Johnson complains that he is being surveillance for his position against the way lawmakers are proceeding with Justice Ja’neh’s impeachment, claiming that the plot to arrest him might be masterminded by both lawmakers and elements within the Ministry of Justice.
Cllr. Johnson has been challenging members of the House of Representatives through a court process for their disrespect for the Supreme Court’s order and the process they have used to pass an impeachment bill against Justice Ja’neh.
The lawyer recalls that earlier this week when he appeared on OK FM, another local radio to express his disagreement with the lawmakers, an alleged dark vehicle was parked outside the station for over 30 minutes.
He says when he came outside the station at the end of the talk show, the parking of the dark vehicle there drew his attention and as such he subsequently began photographing it.
As a criminal justice practitioner, Cllr. Johnson says he knew exactly that people were after him and so he thought to get photos of the dark vehicle before it took off.
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But Cllr. Johnson has ruled out President George Manneh Weah’s involvement in the alleged plot to arrest him.
He says he knew President Weah during childhood, as far back as those days when the president was still a young man and playing football.
He believes that President Weah will not authorize his arrest. But he also advises that this is the time for the president to step in to resolve this matter.
Cllr. Johnson is standing as legal counsel for Associate Justice Ja’neh against whom the House of Representatives has passed an impeachment bill.
Following the submission of the bill to the Liberian Senate, Justice Ja’neh would be required to face impeachment trial.
But it remains to be seen if Justice Ja’neh will honor such trial given the House’s persistent non- cooperation with the nation’s highest court.
The Ruling Coalition for Democratic Change (CDC) Representatives Acarous Gray and Thomas Fallah say Justice Ja’neh has committed proved misconduct, corruption and has abused his office.
The House then processed and passed a bill of impeachment against the Associate Justice based on accusations made against him by the ruling CDC lawmakers.
But while members of the House were processing Justice Ja’neh’s impeachment bill, the accused sought the Supreme Court’s intervention, requesting a prohibition against the process leading to his impeachment.
The Court subsequently issued a stay order and instructed that all parties returned to status quo ante, pending the outcome of the hearing of the petition for a writ of prohibition before it.
That meant that both the lawmakers and Justice Ja’neh, through their legal counsels, were required to stop all further proceedings and appear before the nation’s final arbiter of justice to address issues raised against the impeachment process.
Justice Ja’neh’s lawyer and the Ministry of Justice did appear, but the lawmakers defied the Court and said they were not appearing because of alleged violation of separation of power by the Court’s intervention.
Instead, they ordered the Justice in Chambers Sie- A – Nyeneh Yuoh to vacate the instrument she sent to them to avoid embarrassment.
By Winston W. Parley
