By Mark N. Mengonfia mmenginfia@gmail.com
Opposition is growing in some quarters against moves by some members of the House of Representatives to ensure the impeachment of Associate Justice Kabineh Ja’neh, with a pro-Ja’neh protest on Tuesday at the Capitol, seat of the Liberian Legislature.
Some people of Nimba County converged on the grounds of the Capitol building carrying placards and they petitioned members of the House of Representatives to discontinue their ongoing impeachment process.
The embattled Justice Ja’neh himself hails from Nimba and there have been reports quoting him as saying that he has not abused his office and he not give in to pressure to remove him from office.
The action of the citizens came just hours after a group of Lawyers said they will publically show their disapproval of the action of the House to defy a Supreme Court summon to appear, after the court placed a stay order on the impeachment proceedings. The spokesman for the lawyers, Cllr Arthur Johnson said on Monday that they will stage what effectively amounts to a go slow action in the coming days.
The people of Nimba presenting their petition on Tuesday at the Capitol Building
The people of Nimba on Tuesday gathered in their numbers on the grounds of the Capitol Building with placket carrying inscriptions “Justice Ja’neh did no wrong, Liberia needs peace at all times, Nimba stands for peace, One Nimba, one people among others.
In three-page petition, they told the Lawmakers that Liberian is a country of law and not of powerful men who will relish “rule by law” and not “rule of law”.
The Nimba people quoted Article 73 of the Liberian Constitution, which says:
“No judicial official shall be summoned, arrested, detained, prosecuted, or tried civilly or criminally by or at the instance of any person or authority on account of judicial opinions rendered or expressed, judicial statement made and judicial acts done in course of trial in open court or in chambers, except for treason or other felonies, misdemeanor or breach of peace. Statements made and acts done by such judicial officials in the course of a judicial proceeding shall be privileged, and subject to the above qualification. No such statements made or acts done shall be permissible into evidence against them at any trial or proceeding.”
Justice Kabineh Ja’neh
Based on the constitutional provision in Article 73 of the Liberian constitution, reading the petition statement by one of the sons of Nimba, Laurence Sua, the legal advisor for the federation of Nimba Youth said, “Nimba county elders, youth, women and students are yet to see anything in the constitution and the laws of Liberia that qualifies Justice Ja’neh for impeachment.”
According to Sua, the independence of a Justice and a Judge should be a reason for celebration in any democracy with Liberia being on exception.
The Nimba citizens when on to say in their petition that the ECOBANK vs Austin Clarke case as well as the land case mentioned in the two lawmakers bill of impeachment qualify for judicial opinions rendered or expressed for which they said article 73 of the constitution prevents a Justice or Judge from being punished.
In their petition, they on the Speaker and members of the House of Representatives to immediately cease any and all unconstitutional acts and actions that would undermine the embryonic democracy and render Liberia a joke in the comity of nations.
The people of Nimba also called on that body to respect the constitution, particularly the provision that calls for coordination among the branches of government and should not invite what they called ugly and embarrassing situation of fight between the Judicial and Legislative Branches of the Liberian.
Moreover, they said that the energies being used by the Speaker and members of the House of Representatives be redirected to helping Liberian economic in their words in crisis, build the damaged infrastructure, improve the agriculture sector, support the poor health system and work to ensure that the messy educational system graduates from mess to best as it should.
The petition from the Nimba people should have been received by the committee on Claims and Petition, but it was instead received by members of the Nimba Legislative Caucus, who promised to present the document from their kinsmen to their colleagues for onward action.