PHOTO: Abandoned court building project
By Garmah Never Lomo, garmahlomo@gmail.com from Fish Town, River Gee Co.
The 15th Judicial Circuit Court in River Gee County is said to be operating under strenuous condition, with no ideal office location in an area 517 kilometers southeast of Monrovia.
The court, which initially operated from the residence of fallen Senator Nathaniel Williams, is now based in a container left behind by UNMIL.
The container itself, according to our reporter, is in a dilapidated state with several leakages. Even the compartment being used to store records, as well, have leakages that pose serious threat to the documents.
Besides its deplorable state of the container, its location is not just ideal for court proceedings due to frequent distractions and disturbances as it is situated just next to the political office of River Gee County Representative Francis Young and the Superintendent compound.
The office of the Judge of the 15th judicial court George W. Smith is located in a guest house in Fish Town where he also resides.
The spokesman of the Judiciary, Daryl Atty. Ambrose Nmah, when contacted about the abandoned project, said the first group contracted to build the court squandered the money and began using substandard materials; something that caused them to part ways with that group and hired another firm who were to pre-finance the project.
But he said the head of the new group soon died, leading to the delay, but that everything will be done to have the project on course.
The abandonment of the construction of the 15th Judicial Circuit Court which began as far back as 2010, is no doubt a grave embarrassment to judicial authorities in the county, who are not even certain if they may be asked to relocate again.
It can be recalled that Normal proceedings at the 15th Judicial Circuit Court in River Gee County were reportedly disrupted by the County’s District 2 Representative, Francis S. Young and political supporters early this week.
Rep. Young is seeking reelection in the district
The disturbances began after Judge George Smith sent a Sheriff to Representative Young ordering him to remove a thatch structure erected in front of the court.
The lawmaker replied by telling the sheriff to return and tell the judge to walk to him.
The Lawmaker is said to have subsequently ordered supporters to mount a PA system in front of the thatch structure which directly faces the court and begin to play loud music, thereby disturbing the entire court session for Monday, November 23, 2020.
Supporters of the Lawmaker were not only playing loud music, they were also chanting battle cries and parading with chairs on their heads, because the judge had told them to remove the makeshift thatch structure.
When contacted then, the representative defied the Judge, saying he had no authority to tell him to remove his thatch structure, because it was put up on his private property. But he couldn’t justify why his supporters had mounted a PA system and chanted battle cries close to the court.