PHOTO: SG Cllr. Syrenius Cephus
Monrovia, Liberia- For more than two months now, Liberia’s Solicitor General Saymah Syrenius Cephus has parading the corridor of the Temple of Justice informing some legal professionals that he has been selected to organize this year’s African Bar Association conference in Malawi, as Garmah Never Lomo reports.
But the Liberian National Bar Association (LNBA) in a communication signed by its national Secretary General, Cllr. Bornor M. Varmah has distanced the Bar from upcoming African Bar Association conference which is being organized by the Liberia Solicitor General.
LNBA officials have said that they are not aware of such conference and they see it as undermining the institution by SG Cephus.
But in a press release dated July 15, 2022, the Planning Committee of the African Bar Association (AfBA) Malawi Conference 2022, has described as totally regrettable, an LNBA interoffice circular suggesting a rather needless denial of the convening of the Bar’s Conference slated for Lilongwe, Malawi, from August 7-11, 2022.
The Committee clarifies that membership to the African Bar is exclusively personal and not collective or institutional, and as such, the Bar leadership which has been democratically elected to steer its affairs, does not have to seek the permission of any of its agents to determine the next conference venue or appoint anyone to carry out its activities.
But the LNBA in a communication says: “This is to inform all members of the Liberian National Bar Association that the leadership of the LNBA expresses deep concern regarding information relating to upcoming African Bar Association conference scheduled to be held Lilongwe, Malawi.”
The LNBA has informed all of its members that it is not aware nor it involved with the planning or organization of such conference.
LNBA communication further states that the African Bar Association has not any time officially contacted LNBA regarding this conference and as such and as such the Bar is not involved with any activities relating to the pending conference.
However, the LNBA says individual members of the Bar who are desirous of participating in the pending conference of the African Bar Association, may do so at their own volition.
The Planning Committee, which is headed by Cllr. Sayma Syrenius Cephus who is also Chairman of the Advisory Board Committee of the African Bar, says the LNBA’s circular clearly represents a complete misunderstanding of the decision reached at the Niamey, Niger Conference in 2021, that led to the selection of the Republic of Malawi as a host country, the appointment of the Planning Committee Chair, as well as the selection of Vice President Jewel Howard Taylor as this year’s Keynote Speaker.
It can be recalled in 1971, the African Bar Association was established as a professional body uniting individual lawyers and national legal association in Africa. The African Bar Association was designed to be a federation of national legal associations, corporate, unincorporated legal entities and individual lawyers.
The LNBA is open to interact with International and regional organizers to enhance the rule of law system globally.
But SG Cephus reacting to the allegation via mobile phone told this news outlet that he doesn’t need to seek permission from the LNBA before he can organize the African Bar Association conference.
LNBA is who and why should the African Bar contact them?
“My reaction to that letter is that the LNBA Secretary General who signed the communication is sick.”