-Possible Impeachment hangs over Judge Klah
By A Staff Writer and Garmah Never Lomo
The full bench of the Supreme Court of Liberia at the weekend upheld and endorsed the recommendations of the Judiciary Inquiry Committee (JIC) to suspend the Judge of the Commercial Court at the Temple of Justice, Richard Klah for at least one year for “gross impropriety and irregularity”.
The country’s high court was reviewing the decision of the JIC, which investigated the Judge for allegedly receiving bribe and having dealings with both parties in a action of debt for attachment case before him.
Judge Klah was presiding over Action of damage by attachment, involving a Lebanese businessman identified as Moussa Abdulkarin, who had sued Mr. Swansey Fallah for over US$200,000.
During the investigation by Judiciary Inquiry committee, Judge Richard Klah is said to have lied from the very beginning and even swore on the Bible under oath that he had never interacted with Sweansy Fallah. The Judge also claimed that he never had any conversation with his accuser, adding that if what victim Fallah is saying about him is true, the Judiciary inquiry committee should take any decision against him.
After denying several times that he had never received any money from Swansey Fallah, when Judge Clarke’s phone was requested by the Judiciary Inquiry committee to search his call log, it was proven that the Judge of the Commercial Court had indeed called both the complainant and Mr. Abdulkarin over one hundred times.
Judge Klah call log on both the Orange and LGSM companies, it was also proven that he was in constant communication with both parties in the case, but the person who gave him higher money was the one who won the case.
In its ruling on Friday, August 16, 2019, the Supreme Court said Judge Klah’s handling of the debt case “was influenced by gross impropriety and irregularity, the judgement is hereby declared null and void and the trial ordered de novo and the findings and recommendations of the JIC are hereby endorsed…”
Possible impeachment hangs over Judge Klah
In addition to the endorsement of the JIC’s suspension recommendation, the Supreme Court says that the gravity of the ethical breaches committed by the Commercial Court Judge would warrant his referral to the House of Representatives to consider possible impeachment.
“However due to the outrageous and reprehensible nature of Judge Klah’s violation of the Judicial Cannons as well as our Criminal Statutes and the need to deter judicial officers in the jurisdiction from engaging in gross misconduct, we hereby modify the penalties recommended by the JIC from suspension for not less than one year and unanimously hold that his name be forwarded to the Honourable House of Representatives to determine whether the acts he was found guilty of amount to impeachable offense,” the Supreme Court ruling said.
The bribery scandal involving the Commercial Court Judge comes in the wake of what is seen as rising public mistrust about the rule of law in Liberia and it comes hard on the heels of a number of local and international human rights reports of rising tide of corruption in
According to one of the party litigants Mr. Fallah, who had complained, Judge Klah met him in the corridor of the court and allegedly told him to enter his office but should not tell his lawyer.
The complainant, Fallah also alleged that Judge Klah told him to give US$500,000 and he Judge Clarke can make him win the case. But Fallah’s complainant alleged that he gave US$19,700 to Judge Clarke the first time and gave and additional US$6,000.00 the second time in the presence of his friend.
Judge Clarke however denied the allegations.
The complainant then wrote the Chief Justice of the Supreme Court of Liberia, who sent it to the Judiciary Inquiry committee for further inquiry.
The embattled Judge was therefore questioned by the Judiciary Inquiry committees why he was in constant communication with both parties, when he is serving as Judge in case, instead of dealing with their respective lawyers.
Judge Klah was therefore deemed in violation of the Judiciary Canon and it was also unethical to talk to parties during a case. After the Fallah lost the case, all properties along with his bank account were seized, something that prompted the complainant to complain Liberian to the Chief Justice.
With all the allegations levied against Judge Klah, he challenged the Judiciary inquiry committee report which the matter was to the justice in Chamber but again challenged the justice in Chamber which the matter was taken before the bench.
However, lawyers representing Judge Clarke, Cllr. Lavel Supuwood who was the lawyer for the complainant said, the issue of bribery against his client was based on speculation, not evidence.
Cllr. Supuwood, a former Liberian Justice Minister, also said that there was no evidence to support the claim of the complainant, something that prompted the Chief Justice to express surprise at Cllr. Supuwood.
The former Justice Minister was serving as lawyer for the complainant and coming to defend Judge Klah at the same time.