Amid Protracted Delays
PHOTO: Blamo Dixon, Criminal Court “C” Resident Circuit Judge
By Garmah Never Lomo, garmahlomo@gmail.com
TEMPLE OF JUSTICE, Monrovia– The National Association of Trial Judges of Liberia (NATJL) Vice President Judge Blamo A. Dixon has called on the head of the Judiciary branch of government Sie-A-Nyene G. Yuoh to have Judges salaries be disbursed between 25th and 30th of each month.
In recent times, Judges and other judicial workers have been unhappy over slice in their pay and delay in disbursement of salaries. The CDC government’s earlier promise to pay government workers on time has persistently not been kept.
Judge Dixon, who is resident Circuit Court Judge made the call in response to the Judge’s Charge at the formal opening of the May 2023 A.D term of court held at the Criminal Court “A” in Monrovia on Monday, May 8, 2023.
“Madam Chief Justice I beg to draw your attention that we are sailing back to forty-five (45) to sixty (60) days to receive one-month salary; even in this electioneering year. We need your intervention to regularize our salaries to be paid to us between 25th and 30th of every month. We are opening courts today throughout the length and breadth of the Republic of Liberia without our salaries for the month of April 2023 and fuel to run our vehicles,” Judge Dixon said.
According to the circuit court Judge, some of his colleagues are traveling to the leeward counties without money to leave with their respective families and also without money to sustain themselves for the time they will be living and working in those areas.
Judge Dixon said that Chief Justice Sie-A-Nyene G. Yuoh is the first Chief Justice among seven Chief Justices that he has served in the Judiciary branch of government in different capacities, prior to his elevation as Judge to request his observation in a complaint recently filed against him before the Chief Justice.
“As for the other Chief Justices, any small complaint that is filed against judges or magistrates, it goes directly to the Judicial Inquiry Commission (JIC) even if there is no magnitude in the complaint. As a result, former retired Chief Justice Francis S. Korkpor Sr. left approximately 102 complaints filed against judges and magistrates before the Judiciary Inquiry Commission (JIC),” Judge Dixon further explained.
Judge Dixon however, maintained that the induction of four new judges is a milestone in the history of the Judiciary branch of government and development of the Rule of law and Access of Justice.
“We are happy for the development because in the future, some of us will appear before them as private lawyers. The induction of the two female judges accentuates the vision of Madam Chief Justice for women empowerment,” Judge Dixon added
The Criminal Court “C” resident court judge noted with interest that out of the four new judges, two of them are females, making a total of seven females circuit court judges, including the female judge of the Juvenile Court of Liberia, summing up to eight female judges.