Justice – in – Chambers Sie – A – Nyene G. Yuoh has denied a petition for prohibition filed against Liberty Party (LP) embattled chair Musa Bility by LP political leader and Grand Bassa County Senator Nyonblee Karnga – Lawrence.
In a conference held Tuesday, 28 June 2022, Justice Yuoh said since there was a pending case at the National Elections Commission (NEC) which was still in testimony phase, there was no legal basis to bring an open matter to the Supreme Court.
She also ruled that there was no legal basis to issue a prohibition against the parties. The Associate Justice, therefore, ruled that the claims put forth by Nyonblee and her LP officials were not capable of being decided by legal principles and therefore “non-cognizable.”
Yuoh said the Supreme Court was not the rightful authority to hear such cases. Justice Yuoh noted further that the NEC has committed no errors in its handling of the LP case(s).
She indicated that the multiple NEC rulings that the LP Constitution was valid pending an amendment through the LP procedures or an unappealable ruling from a court of law were in line with established and known Political Party procedures.
She stated that the NEC is not required to enforce the LP Farmington memorandum of understanding (MOU), agreed to by both Parties.
Rather, Justice Yuoh said, the Commission is to receive an amended Constitution from LP, reflecting that the agreements reached in the MOU had been implemented by the Parties themselves.
“That the claim by the Petitioners that the NEC “facilitated” actions by the Defendants did not have merit,” she noted.
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Justice Yuoh informed the Parties that the Supreme Court was undivided in its opinion and that she was in agreement with Associate Justice Jamesetta Howard – Wolokollie’s assessment of the Petitioners’ claims.
She said she found that the prayers in the petition were “nonjusticiable”, meaning that the claims put forth were not capable of being decided by legal principles.
Justice Yuoh, therefore, suspended the case, putting an end to any further pursuance of the matter at the Supreme Court level.
The petition for Prohibition which has been denied by the Associate Justice was brought by members and former officials of the Liberty Party, Sen. Nyonblee Karnga Lawrence, Sen. Steve Zargo, and Mr. Jacob Smith.
They filed the petition against LP Chairman, Musa Hassan Bility, Secretary General, Martin Kollah, and the National Elections Commission.
The Justice’s decision brings to a legal end the many claims that Karnga – Lawrence and her supporters have brought regarding claims against the LP Constitution and leadership elected in January 2021.
Justice Yuoh informed the Parties that in review of the claims presented by the Petitioners, she had reviewed the case file with all evidence presented by the Petitioners.
She said she conferred with Justice Jemima Howard – Wolokollie, the original Supreme Court Justice having jurisdiction over the case before she (Yuoh) took over as Justice-in-Chambers.
She said she also listened to information provided by legal counsel for both Parties.
Justice Yuoh stated that the major question before her was whether or not the petitioners had met the legal requirement for requesting a prohibition against the defendants.
According to her, the answer to this question would inform the Court whether or not the matter merited hearing or action at the Supreme Court level.
The Justice’s opinion, based on an examination of the case file and oral explanations given by all parties, was that prohibition did not lie.https://thenewdawnliberia.com/liberty-party-will-be-more-vibrant-senator-karnga-lawrence/
