By Garmah Never Lomo, garmahlomo@gmail.com
TEMPLE OF JUSTICE, Monrovia- A Magistrate at the Monrovia City Cour, Jomah Jallah, who is noted for repeatedly being late for court sessions has taken issue with the management of one of Liberia’s leading dailies, FrontPageAfrica (FPA).
Showing up late in court is a violation of the judicial rule that all judges should be in court at 8am, but this Judge always coming to work 12pm
However, this is not what has annoyed the City Court Magistrat. Judge Jallah’s complaint to the Press Union of Liberia comes after FPA reported that he (Magistrate Jallah) and Solicitor General Saymah Syrenius Cephas are allegedly in constant communication with a money laundering criminal.
Apart from the FPA’s report on him, there are other claims against him of “misconduct”.
Recently, supporters of Alexander Cummings’ Alternative National Congress (ANC) got in a rage at his ongoing forgery and criminal conspiracy trial, by wounding a police officer assigned at the magisterial court triggered by claims against the Judge. Some authorities of this opposition party entered magistrate Jallah’s chamber. When he came out, he told the perpetrator, who inflicted wound on the police officer, to go without penalizing him. That was until some media reported the matter that he let the perpetrator go free, before he recalled the perpetrator to issue writ on him.
Rule 1
Except for the official opening day of the term of each court, or otherwise provided by law, and the rules of the Supreme Court, all courts shall meet daily at 8:00 a.m., recess and adjournment being in the discretion of the Judge, provided that excluding holidays and Sundays, all courts shall be opened from 8:00 a.m. – 4:00 p.m. on Mondays through Fridays, 9:00 a.m. – 12:00 noon on Saturdays, for the purposes of filing pleadings, issuance of writ of summons and other administrative matters in accordance with law or as may be authorized by the Judge or other authority.
In his complain to the PUL this week, magistrate Jallah said:
“I present compliments and hereby write to complain the Front Page Africa newspaper for a publication intended to damage my hard earn character and reputation and especially the integrity and independence of the Liberian Judiciary by its false and misleading publication of a story in its January 13,2022, edition captioned “Solicitor General, Judge talking with the Criminal” a direct allegation that I have been talking with a certain alleged money launderer called Patrick Wahi Herman which is false and has no iota of truth.”
Furthermore, he said that FrontPageAfrica newspaper is said to have based the purported publication from call logs which it claims to possess.
“Firstly, I hereby reject and categorically deny the publication as nothing less than blackmail and further maintain that at no time have I ever communicated with any money launderer, let alone Patrick Wali Hermann and therefore, I challenge the Newspaper to prove its allegations.”
“In light of that, I shall be pleased were your good offices cite the Management of Front Page Africa to a conference so that it can prove these reckless and irresponsible allegations made against my person. Although I have contempt powers as a judge but I will defer the use of such powers pending the outcome of the conference,” Judge Jomah Jallah’s complaint added.