The indoor program meant to climax celebration of the Law Day on the afternoon of Friday, May 3, at the Paynesville City Hall, was marred by disorder as tensions escalated among lawyers of the Liberian National Bar Association (LNBA) over the absence of Cllr. Jallah A Barbu, the selected keynote speaker at the event.
The message of Barbu's absence and being represented by a proxy ignited a commotion, leading to disruptions during the event.
The disruption of the occasion stemmed from disagreements between Counselors Emmanuel Turay and Nya Gbaintor, regarding the delivery of the keynote speaker's message.
Tensions escalated as differing viewpoints were exchanged, leading to a heated exchange between the two. Efforts to maintain decorum were challenged by the lack of consensus among the legal practitioners as discomfort crept into the hall.
Eyewitnesses told the Daily Observer that the incident started after the proxy was introduced by the master of ceremony (MC) to deliver Barbu's prepared message on the theme: "The mechanism to establish the War and Economic Crimes Courts for Liberia."
The pronouncement was reportedly greeted with mixed feelings among the lawyers, especially between Cllr. Turay and Cllr. Gbaintor, whose actions caused serious pandemonium in the hall.
Turay told colleagues that he got into a heated argument with Gbaintor because of the latter's (Gbaintor) continued disruption of the proxy's messages.
"I repeatedly advised him (Gbaintor) to stop his criticism of the proxy but he refused and kept disrupting the message," an eyewitness quotes Turay as saying.
According to another, Cllr. Gbaintor said he had complained to his colleague, including Turay, who was seated next to him, that the proxy was delivering the message like an elementary student.
Gbaintor's assessment of the proxy did not go down well with Turay, who said he responded by telling Gbaintor "to shut up his mouth and to stop the criticism of the proxy."
Efforts by LNBA executive members to restore order proved unsuccessful, prompting the intervention of the Liberia National Police (LNP) to mitigate the situation.
Some of the angry lawyers, especially Turay and Gbaintor, were escorted out of the hall by LNP officers, enabling the proxy to continue with the keynote message.
Chief Justice Sie-A-Nyene Yuoh expressed concern over the lawyers' behavior, warning that their actions were damaging the legal profession's reputation and undermining the rule of law.
The Chief Justice openly warned that such behavior by the lawyers was bringing the legal profession to public ridicule, which tends to undermine the rule of law.
"Your behavior is dismantling the Bar slowly but surely. This is undermining our noble profession and the rule of law," Chief Justice Yuoh publicly informed the lawyers.
In the aftermath of the incident, LNBA President Cllr. Sylvester Rennie condemned the disruptive conduct of the lawyers, emphasizing the need for self-respect and professionalism within the legal community.
"You are a lawyer, shame on you. You should know better," Rennie was heard rebuking his colleagues.
He described the incident as a "complete disrespect to the High Court."
"How would you people, in the presence of the High Court, choose to disrespect the Chief Justice?" an angry Rennie was heard asking from the platform. "We need to respect ourselves as lawyers. If we behave like people in the marketplace, what do you think they would take us for?"
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Retired Associate Justice Philip A.Z Banks attributed the lawyers' behavior to the administration of the Louis Arthur Grimes School of Law, highlighting the need for accountability in legal education.
"These are the lawyers the law school is graduating today. People who should not have been in the law school found themselves there. These are lawyers who we have today," Justice Banks maintained.
Meanwhile, there were other dignitaries at the occasion, in addition to Justice Yuoh. These include the Ghanaian Ambassador to Liberia, retired Justices of the Supreme Court, and current and past presidents of the LNBA.
