By: Joe Noutoua Wandah, Liberian Journalist
Under the legal authority of the ECOWAS Community Court of Justice of the Economic Community of West African States, on November 10, 2020, a guilty verdict was brought against the Government of Liberia under the stewardship of former President George Mannah Weah when former Associate Justice Kabineh Mohammed Ja’neh left the shore of Liberia in his quest for justice at the regional level, thus not trusting the Liberian judicial system!
A legal tussle ensued between Justice Ja’neh and the Republic of Liberia when the government of Liberia, through the Liberian Senate, impeached Justice Ja’neh for what they referred to as theft of records and improper handling of cases!
“Now that ECOWAS has spoken,” has been the official voice of the subregional body. The Boakia-led integrity rescue government must heed this mandate that his predecessor, former president Weah, uprightly refused to adhere to in serving justice to Justice Ja’neh, who has been in denial of his rights in his own country since November 10th, 2020!
Now that ECOWAS has spoken, Liberia, being one of the founding fathers of this regional body, has lost relevance among her peers due to what political analysts called bad governance, including abuses of human rights, wanton killings, lack of justice in her court systems, abuse of public offices, mismanagement of public funds and massive corruptions which has comminated to massive lootings of taxpayers monies with impunity dating from regime to regime since the creation of her senseless wars since some thirty plus years now!
“Now that ECOWAS has spoken,” President Joseph Nyuma Boakai, an icon of peace, integrity, and proper representation of democracy in his forty-plus years of governance experience must bring back those lost values that Liberia once enjoyed within the community of Nations by adhering to the regional body’s (the ECOWAS court’s judgment) verdict as a Nation that believes in the rules of law!
“Now that ECOWAS has spoken,” as I retrospect in the case of Madam Nancy B. Doe, widow of the late President Samuel K. Doe, during the reign of Madam Ellen J. Sirleaf, in which the Liberian government was again found guilty after another legal battle and told to pay all benefits due her as former First Lady! She’s yet to receive her just benefits despite the ECOWAS court ruling!
“Now that ECOWAS has spoken,” this current administration under the stewardship of President Boakai must make sure that this proud and well-respected member of the comity of nations is obligated to uphold all agreements, protocols, decision, and mandates of all organs, institutions, and bodies of ECOWAS community court of justice to uphold all these treaties for Liberia to again take her rightful place as Africa’s oldest independence Nation!
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“Now that ECOWAS has spoken,” this Nation (Liberia)must allow the wisdom which once guided our forefathers in her governance system in which she played those pivotal roles in the independence of many Nations within the Continent of Africa in regaining her lost image!
“Now that ECOWAS has spoken,” this regime, which came to power through the matral of good governance, curbing abuses of public funds, properties, eradication of corruption in all forms, and giving back security that vanishes in the last six years with citizen’s been told to buy CCTV for their safety and the random usages of drugs by the youths as if these dangerous substances by laws has been allowed to be used in the public space without regards to the rules of laws!
“Now that ECOWAS has spoken,” the Liberian judicial system will not allow major drug cases such as the hundreds of million-dollar case in which accused persons were allowed to walk away amid mounting evidence. They refused to collect bond fees and attributing their so-called freedom to the verdict from jurors, thus denting the legal image of Liberia!
“Now that ECOWAS has spoken,” as the legitimate regional body chief advocate who speaks for the sixteen Countries making up ECOWAS, has sent a caveat to the people of Liberia through the judicial process to do the more honorable things to uphold these principles of democracy if she is to regain her lost values!
Can be reach at; noutouanjoe@yahoo.com
