As Cllr. Wesseh A. Wesseh Takes Up His First Assignment As Judge In River Gee County
PHOTO: New Judge Wesseh Alphonso Wesseh holding a blue folder
By Garmah Never Lomo, garmahlomo@gmail.com
He started from a very humble beginning and has gone through the ranks of the legal profession over the years. Cllr. Wesseh Alphonso Wesseh has served as County Attorney in both River Gee and Grand Bassa Counties respectively for a number of years prior to now becoming a Judge.
Due to several hard work, experience and passion for job, he was in 2018 appointed as Assistant Minister for Litigation at the Ministry of Justice. Nearly five years later, he was again appointed along with two other judges to the position of Relieving Judge in October 2022 weeks to his wedding.
As the saying goes, “hard work pays” so it explains the rise to prominence of this former state Prosecutor who is now Judge Wesseh.
He and two other judges were commissioned and seated as Relieving Judges and Resident Criminal Court Judge respectively on April 13,2023.
Judge has been assigned in River Gee County for this May 2023 term of court.
The assignment letter from the Chief Justice of the Supreme Court of Liberia reads:
“By virtue of the power vested in me by the constitution of Liberia and laws in pursuance thereof, I hereby assign and command you to hold and preside over the May 2023 term of the Fifteenth Judicial Circuit Court in River Gee County.
You are hereby commanded to forward your returns to the Chief Justice indicating how your Honor executed the mandate. The duplicate of this mandate should be attached to the returns.
The envelope in which the returns are forwarded should always be marked in the upper left hand corner Returns to assignment.
The returns must also contain all information regarding your manner of execution of this mandate,” says his appointment letter signed and seal by her Honor Chief Justice Sie-A-Nyene G. Yuoh.
Cllr. Wesseh was appointed as Assistant Minister for Ligation at Ministry of Justice in 2018.
He was nominated on October 11, 2022, by President Weah to one of the two additional new Reliving Judges positions, created after the National Legislature amended the Judiciary law of Liberia.
The delay in his confirmation by the Liberian Senate was recently condemned by the President of the Liberia National Bar Association, Cllr. Sylvester D. Rennie during the opening of the March Term of the Supreme Court.
Cllr. Wesseh graduated in May 2011, with an LLB degree from the Louis Arthur Grimes School of Law, University of Liberia.
He also holds an LLM Degree in Transnational Criminal Justice and Justice (Criminal justice), from the United Nations Interregional Crimes and Justice Institute(UNIRCI), based in Turin, Italy in July 2021.
Described as very experienced Prosecutor, Cllr. Wesseh had previously worked at the Liberian Senate as a staff for some thirteen (13) yeas. He worked for eleven years at the Ministry of Justice, first serving as Legal Counsel assigned at the Criminal Courts “A” and “D”. He was then appointed County Attorney for River Gee in November 2012.
At the Ministry of Justice, he also served as Lead Prosecutor for Trafficking In Person cases, where he was directly involved in prosecution of thirteen trafficking In person case, which improved Liberia’s ranking in the US State’s Department annual Human Trafficking report from tier two watch list to tier two.
His role in Prosecuting Trafficking In Persons (TIP) cases was recognized and rewarded by the US States Department, when he was invited to the US States Department for a fellowship on Trafficking In Persons in Washington DC in January 2023 together with other actors for a Human trafficking fellowship.