The rule of law is not and cannot be treated as a symbolic tissue and must be respected by all without exception. And on cardinal aspect of the law that is being treated disrespectfully is the Code of Conduct by many high placed government officials.
To be very frank and realistic, people found in the highest echelon in authority are reflective of being very entrenched in disobeying and violating the rule of law including their cronies with absolute impunity, which is very troubling; and despite all efforts to make Liberia a country of law, the more the planted at the helm of authority enforced it to be a country of men. Who others must admire them or living far above the rule of law with impunity, which is not fair for a democratic nation like ours
It is an open secret that fish indeed starts to rot from the head, and in the case where impunity-prone higher-ups do no care to respect the rule of law and are very quick to shift blame on other individuals in previous administrations for gross violation of the rule of law, then it is not only unfortunate, but then what relevance do they occupy in the governance system, when they expect only the common citizens to be the custodians of the rule of law, and must be punished if they act conversely, but they, the privileged few and the elite must always remain untouchable when they break he rule of law which h also send a very bad and mixed-signals to the outside world and suppressed potential investors and their investments from coming to do business in a country where the rule of law is only set aside for the untouchable which thy can trample underfoot at will with impunity.
The nation's record had vividly shown how the rule of law has been disregarded exclusively to suit the comfort and will of the elite and the untouchables. Example when the President George M. Weah in gross breach of the rule of law, unilaterally appointed, confirmed and commissioned and Liberia's current Ambassador accredited to the United States, although only the Senate, sanctioned by the Constitution to perform such task through its Committee on Foreign Affairs; despite being on their break, did not wait and went ahead and overstepped his authority; and amidst public outcry, the Ambassador who has already begun his official functions, having presented his credentials to US President Donald J. Trump, was recalled, and the entire process was corrected and redone.
Again, the tinted and unorthodox form and manner in which the US$25 million mandated by the Chief Executive to be taken from the national coffers to be infused into the ailing economy to enhance the mop up exercise, however, the method adopted and applied by the Minister of Finance and Development Planning, Mr. Samuel Tweah was gravely condemned as being done unethically, and deeply tailored in criminality from justification provided that money exchangers were engaged in the process in fact the names and mobile numbers presented either turned out to be ghost, as others stated that they were not given any money in the process; and at the heart of the demonstrated dishonesty and hullaballoos, Tweah was asked to step down by popular demand from the public, but the people's quest was swallowed by political impunity.
During a vigorous campaign to impeach Associate Justice of the Supreme Court, Cllr. Kabineh M. Ja'neh by some lawmakers of the Congress for Democratic Change (CDC), the ruling establishment who ganged up to ensure that Ja'neh be impeached, despite calls that the move was wrongly timed, they went ahead and had their day. But when impeached Ja'neh advanced his case to the ECOWAS' Court, he won the case and the Liberian Government was ordered to abide by some listed settlements, and in spite of being a bonafide member of the ECOWAS Parliament, rejcted to honor the verdict of that court, thereby proving to be above the foreign court's' verdict.
Ironically, with the endorsement by President George M. Weah in collaboration with member states of ECOWAS regarding the membership suspension of Guinea from the latter (ECOWAS) following the Military Coup, many political observers viewed Weah's acceptance of that august body's authority as questionable and half-baked.
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Also, the political observers who see Weah's endorsement of the ECOWAS' inspired membership suspension, as double-standard on ECOWAS' authority also noted that in fact, it is the very leadership that disregarded the judgment of ECOWAS in the tinted impeachment fiasco of Associate Supreme Court Associate Justice, Cllr. Kabineh M. Ja'neh, portraying his move as a man who tells the villagers that he does not eat snake, but they should save the snake's eggs for him to eat.
Now, the rule of law is a solid bridge relied on and used by all and foreign nationals in our country and must be respected and that all must abide by it without cowing or caving it into scorn and public ridicule, because it is the sustainability of the rule of law by us, that defines the status of our credibility both at home and abroad. We must uphold it collectively with pride and total respect without second thought.
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