President George Manneh Weah has withdrawn the nomination of his controversial nominee for Justice Minister, Cllr. Charles Gibson, replacing him with Cllr. Musa F. Dean.
Dean, one of Liberia’s top lawyers who led the legal defense team of the National Elections Commission in the 2017 election, was appointed Minister of Justice-designate on Wednesday.
The new Justice Minister-designate also provided legal defense for the former ruling Unity Party Chairman, Senator Varney Sherman who was indicted and is facing trial in the nearly US100,000.00 Sable Mining bribery case unearthed by the UK campaign group, Global Witness.
An Executive Mansion press release said “President George Manneh Weah has with immediate effect withdrawn the nomination of Cllr. Charles Gibson, as Justice Minister-designate.”
The release did not give reason for Gibson’s withdrawal but it comes as eyebrows have been raised about his integrity given the fact that the Supreme Court Bar found him guilty for breaching legal ethics in a financial transactions with his client.
The court made Gibson pay back some US$25,000 said to have been taken illegally from a businessman who owns the GECCO company, which legal interest he represented.
The scandal regarding his ethical problem led to his suspension by the Supreme Court Bar, which was only lifted in the wake of his nomination as Justice Minister by the President, which did not help to remove the stain earlier created by the scandal.
The Executive Mansion said the decision to revoke Gibson’s nomination was made on February 7, 2018 in an official communication to the Senate Pro-Temp Hon. Albert.
Gibson was one of the first five ministerial appointments made by President George Manneh Weah subject to Senate confirmation shortly after his inauguration as Liberia’s 24th President on Monday.
The local FrontpageAfrica newspaper first published the scandal regarding his ethical problem that led to his suspension by the Supreme Court Bar.