The Supreme Court on April 30 declined to hear a Bill of Information filed by the Board of Commissioners of the Liberia Telecommunications Authority (LTA) and the Chairperson of the Governance Commission to declare their suspension by President Joseph Boakai unlawful.
Associate Justice Yussif Kaba, currently presiding in Chambers of the Supreme Court, wrote a statement declining to hear the bill.
Despite Justice Kaba's decision, the suspended tenured officials could file the request before the Full Bench of the Supreme Court. The tenured officials' latest legal battle was triggered by President Joseph Nyuma Boakai's recent action to have them all suspended.
There have been concerns raised about the potential threat to the rule of law as President Boakai pushes to dismantle key tenured and governance institutions, despite a Supreme Court ruling ordering the reinstatement of certain officials in tenured positions.
The Supreme Court had ruled that President Boakai violated the Liberia 1986 Constitution by making new nominations before the tenure of officials appointed by his predecessor had ended, denying them due process.
In response to the Supreme Court ruling, President Boakai suspended Edwina C. Zackpah, Israel Akinsanya, Zotawon D. Titus, James Gbarwea, and Osborne K. Diggs, Chairperson and Commissioners of the LTA, citing allegations of questionable financial transactions and malpractices.
According to an Executive Mansion release, the President called for a comprehensive audit of the LTA by the General Auditing Commission (GAC) to investigate these claims and urged the suspended officials to cooperate with the investigation.
The President urged the suspended officials to cooperate fully with the GAC as they undertake the investigation and expressed confidence that the investigation would reveal any financial impropriety and help identify corrective measures to prevent such occurrences in the future.
"The suspension of the Chairperson and Commissioners is a clear indication of the President's confidence in his Administration's commitment to ensuring that the LTA operates in the best interest of the Liberian people," a release from the Executive Mansion said.
"The President has emphasized that the Government is committed to promoting transparency and accountability in all sectors and urged all public officials to uphold the highest standards of integrity and accountability in carrying out their duties to the Liberian people."
Upon suspending the entire LTA Board of Commissioners, Boakai made interim appointments pending the completion of a general audit, justifying these moves as necessary for continuity and stability during the audit process.
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The President also suspended the Chairperson of the Governance Commission (GC), launching an investigation committee to look into his conduct.
However, the suspended tenured officials have since proceeded to the High Court, pleading to have their suspensions revoked, and the President's appointment of the acting commissioners and chairperson is rendered null and void.
"That, Your Honors, remind the Executive Branch of Government that their action is contemptuous and should thereby desist from repeating the same, and order a stay of further action pending the disposition of the bill of information," they argued.
They also argued that the Act creating the Telecommunications law of 2007, has no provision covering suspension of its tenured officials; rather, it speaks particularly of removal from office.
"The unlawful suspension is not an obstruction in the execution of the court's mandate or a refusal to carry out the court mandate or order and a gross disregard and disrespect to the court," the suspended tenured officials argued.
They claim the letter of indefinite suspension places an impossible condition for President Boakai to lift the suspension. And it is a constructive letter of dismissal and not a letter of suspension, because Boakai has already made attempts at their respective positions. On Friday, April 26, armed officers of the Liberia National Police (LNP) besieged the head office of Liberia Telecommunications Authority (LTA) headquarters, searching the facility reportedly in response to allegations of unauthorized removal of assets and documents from the LTA premises.
