Liberia: Campaign to Restore Ja'neh's Rights

River Gee County Senator Conmany B. Wesseh has vowed to lead a robust campaign to restore all the rights of impeached Associate Justice Kabineh M. Ja'neh.

Mr. Wesseh said the campaign will also seek the restoration of all the rights of Liberia's first female Circuit Court Judge for Montserrado County, Judge Emma Nmano Shannon Walser, who died in 2021.

"Associate Justice Kabineh M. Ja'neh and Judge Walser's rights will be restored. You have my support and we will push this until it happens," Mr. Wesseh said recently at the Temple of Justice during a program.

Ja'neh was impeached in 2019 following a trial at the Liberian Senate for alleged proved misconduct, abuse of public office, wanton abuse of judicial discretion, fraud, misuse of power, and corruption.

But the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS) community court of justice ordered the Liberian government to reinstate Justice Ja'neh.

It also ordered the government to pay Ja'neh US$200,000 as reprobation for moral prejudice suffered in the violation of his rights.

Judge Emma Nmano Shannon Walser was removed in 1979 by a joint resolution of the conservative Legislature after she challenged the government's detention of opposition leaders accused of instigating the rice riot.

But Senator Wesseh noted that the rights of the late Judge Walser and impeached Justice Ja'neh will be restored no matter how long it takes.

According to the opposition lawmaker, formal Associate Justice Ja'neh never got justice because the Constitution was not followed during his impeachment.

Senator Wesseh noted that despite all the illegal and unconstitutional actions, he respects Justice Ja'neh because he stood his ground.

He stated that he was part of the senators that wrote the petition against the removal of Justice Ja'neh because they believed that the Legislature's action was illegal and unconstitutional.

The River Gee lawmaker said due process was never accorded the formal Associates Justice.

"The Supreme Court itself in its intervention was wrong. I mean the Supreme Court was dead wrong," said Senator Wesseh.

He added that the matter reached the ECOWAS Court which in its ruling had disgraced Liberia for doing everything wrongly.

"Disappointingly, we have not been able to live [up] to the ruling of that court and pay the damages and restore the rights of Justice Ja'neh," he noted.

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