PHOTO: Outgoing Liberian Pres. George Manneh Weah
OP-ED: NEW THINKING—with Joe Bartuah
Based on wisdom-laden stories passed onto us by our ancestors, in those days when prudence reigned in what is now Nimba County, anytime a hunter succeeded in killing an elephant, such a hunter became an instant celebrity, as he was highly celebrated within the community.
Whether such a hunter belonged to the lowest echelon of the society, he received his due recognition as a result of his achievement. In other words, a hunter killing an elephant was like an athlete winning an Olympic gold medal. There will be jubilating and fanfare all over the place; people from all over the clan and even across the chiefdom will gather in that particular hunter’s home town to enthusiastically celebrate his triumph.
This was because killing an elephant, the largest creature known to the local folks was considered a pivotal achievement, not only for that particular hunter, but also for the larger community. And so, at the behest of the chief and his council of elders, the hunter would be elegantly dressed and carried shoulders-high, or in a hammock by able-body young men as a mark of honor and appreciation by his kinsmen.
However, when the same successful hunter, on whom such a traditional nobility is being conferred, begins to grumble and make demands that the people take him off their shoulders, or off the hammock, so that he would go back and kill another animal, the mode of the entire festivities would suddenly change; because the same celebrant would become a suspect, as per the traditional perception of the people. In such a scenario, the Chief would immediately order the detention of the same hunter. “What changed?” would be the logical question from a curious reader.
It’s simply because in the traditional wisdom of our sages, there is absolutely no animal that is more prominent, that is more prestigious in stature than an elephant, except human being. As a result, our people believe that it is very bizarre and somehow sacrilegious for a hunter, who has already become famous for employing his best hunting skills to kill an elephant, to again be momentarily agitating that he wants to kill another animal. Once the hunter begins to talk about immediately embarking on another hunting errand, amid the festivities of his achievement, the traditional sages consider that as a sign of trouble, and so, the Chief would swiftly move to nip it in the bud.
As far as the local folks are concerned, when a hunter who has just killed an elephant begins to chant that he wants to kill another animal, even as he is being celebrated, they suspect that the guy now wants to kill a human being, because it’s only a human being that is figuratively bigger than an elephant.
Fellow compatriots, this is a rogue elephant hunter scenario in which Liberia now finds itself amid the torrents of President George Manneh Weah’s lame-duck appointments, most especially his nomination of Counselor Frank Musa Dean, Jr., the outgoing Justice Minister as Associate Justice of the Supreme Court of Liberia. I know that the sitting Chief Justice, Her Honor Sie-A-Nyene Yuoh–who is said to have never relented in degrading, debasing her otherwise venerable judicial chambers to that of the office of legal advisor to President Weah–has already proffered her seemingly unsolicited opinion, even before this case lands on the docket of the Honorable Supreme Court. I’m also aware that Chief Justice Yuoh is a beneficiary of President Weah’s 2022 preferment, but this doesn’t mean that she has to publicly weigh in on every legal issue involving George Weah.
If the Honorable Chief Justice is not aware, in a vibrant democracy, judges and justices tend to elicit, or earn veneration and nobility when they quietly keep above the fray, rather than unnecessarily engaging in political activism for ostentatious reasons. When Chief Justice Yuoh was craving for the job, she vowed to be a disinterested judicial umpire, an impartial jurist who will judiciously dispense justice. Certainly, she doesn’t have to stand atop the Ducor Palace Hotel in Mamba Point and shout about her supposed neutrality. Instead, it should be exceptionally exemplified in her judicial deportment, which entails not giving a hasty legal opinion on cases that might eventually be appealed to the very Supreme Court, over which she currently has the privilege of presiding.
Substantively, when President Weah courageously conceded electoral defeat on November 17, 2023 and congratulated President-elect Joe Boakai, he metaphorically killed a political elephant, because it was a triumph, not only for Liberian democracy, but also for vibrant democracy across the continent; and of course, his exemplary political gesture reverberated around the world, eliciting praises from far and near. One can imagine the enormous pressure that was being mounted on him by the extreme segment of his party not to concede, for egregious reasons. In fact, one of them even went public, claiming that the President’s concession was “unilateral”, as if Mr. Weah needed his prior consent, or as if the claimant and Weah were co-presidents.
People praised President Weah all over the world, because he did the right thing at the time. They praised him, despite his administration being persistently dogged by reports of pervasive corruption for the past six years or so. They praised him in spite of his key cabinet ministers and other high level officials’ alleged involvement in cartel-like corrupt practices, for which the U.S. Government sanctioned them. They praised him despite the fact that his Presidential Affairs Minister was caught on video, bragging about and justifying the massive stealing and plunder by officials of the Weah regime. They praised him despite the undeniable ineptitude of his regime.
Now, having been highly commended and celebrated for allowing vibrant democracy to take its due course, based on the popular will of the Liberian people, it seems that George Weah has now embarked on another mission; this time around, to suffocate and if possible, even strangulate the very democratic process on frivolous, or technical constitutional grounds. The on-going 11th hour appointments being made by President Weah when he’s conscientiously aware that he has lost the mandate of the Liberian people must not only be denounced by all peace-loving Liberians, but all stakeholders should also make every effort to halt those erratic moves.
This proverbial elephant hunter is going rogue and needs to be stopped forthwith, or else, he’ll severely compromise the future functionality of our burgeoning democracy. I’m especially dumbfounded by the lame-duck nomination of his loyal and compliant Justice Minister as Associate Justice of the Supreme Court. President Weah, if you’re not yet fully aware, the Liberian people have effectively rejected your leadership at the polls. For all practical purposes, they rejected your obnoxious leadership on November 14, 2023, and so, don’t abuse the lame-duck power you currently wield by maneuvering your way for egregious reasons.
In whose interests and for what purpose is Weah hastily imposing Musa Dean on the Liberian judiciary? Is he trying to strategically position many of his cronies as much as possible so that they’ll “protect” him, in case of his future trial for corruption and other shady deeds that are yet to come to the public square? I’m not convinced that it’s in the best interests of majority of the Liberian people, because Frank Musa Dean is not an epitome of fairplay and impartiality within the realm of Liberian jurisprudence. If anything, he’s emblematic of a get-rich-quick-at-all-costs orientation and compromises in his epic years as a political survivalist, from his Liberia Telecommunications Corporation days to his Justice Ministry stints, during the rebel years and now. It’s not lost on me that as one of the super-rich political operatives in the country, he knows how to lubricate his way around for political survival in a land where the infamous “brown envelop” reigns in all sorts of sleazy episodes.
In spite of such challenging reality, the stakes are too high, and so, for the sake of the nation, we must all concertedly act now with the utmost urgency it deserves. As I see it, George Weah’s 11th hour nomination is an opportunity for the Liberian Senate to gallantly rise up to the occasion and robustly remove the stigma of subservience to the Executive, which has stained the image of the Legislature from time immemorial.
The Senate should now project a virile, forward-looking leadership, not only to redeem its tainted image as a passive facilitator of Liberia’s debilitating imperial presidency, but it should also strive to project Liberia’s new image as a country in which functional democracy is gradually emerging from the ashes of a fratricidal war. In this 21st century, it MUST NOT be business usual, or the so-says-one-so-say-all regressive politics of yester-years. If the lame-duck president is seemingly making some erratic appointments/nominations, it falls within the constitutional purview of the Senate to prudently decline consent, period.
Moreover, the Vice President-elect, who is also a member of the current Senate, should use whatever leverage he has to dissuade his colleagues from carrying out this laughable confirmation charade. Likewise, the President-elect, who as Vice President for 12 years was constitutionally President of the Senate, should use his leverage to ensure that this mockery of an otherwise eminent judicial nomination fizzles out for the sake of the nation’s image. We must all act now and save the image of the Liberian Republic, because George Weah, this proverbial elephant hunter is constitutionally running amok. A hint to the wise is quite sufficient.