The nomination of Cllr. Cianeh Clinton-Johnson by President Joseph Boakai as Associate Justice of the Supreme Court of Liberia is being met with still resistance from Rights and Advocacy groups for the establishment of the War and economic Crimes court, who are urging President Boakai to return to status quo by rescinding his decision.
Establishing a war and economic crimes court in Liberia is purposefully aimed at ending decades of impunity and to vindicate the rights of victims in Liberia.
In their protest against her nomination as Associate Justice of the Supreme Court, the groups say her seating will undermine the objectives of war and economic Crimes court for Liberia, urging Joseph Boakai to consider withdrawing her nomination, as it is untimely and not in the best interest of the country at this time.
Group Representatives over the weekend argued that the nomination of Clinton-Johnson, wife of the former Justice Minister Cllr. Lavala Koboi Johnson under the regime of the notorious warlord and regime perpetrator of war and economic crimes, Charles G. Taylor, is not feasible at this time and will certainly strengthen the hands of would be indictees for War and economic Crimes.
According to them, the nominee is and can't be the best suited for the highly prestigious and influential post of Associate Justice, in the face of the immense soon be achieved fight against impunity by President Joseph Nyumah Boakai's establishment of the war and economic crimes court for Liberia.
The rights and advocacy groups through their respective representatives insisted that Clinton-Johnson's seating on the high court's Bench would compromise the Justice System, strengthen the arms of war and economic crimes perpetrators under the Taylor regime and undermine the very aims and objectives for the establishment of the war and economic crimes court.
They detested the President's nomination of Cianeh Clinton-Johnson and called on the President to respectfully withdraw such nomination as it is not in the best interest of the nation and people.
They furthermore called on the President to take note of the fact that gathering from their advocacy records of the violation of the rights of pretrial detainees with courts within and surrounding Montserrado County, judge Cianeh Clinton-Johnson is on record for denying rape suspects, 99% of whom are males, access to Justice, due to her failure to have ably proceeded with the trial and conclusion of their matters, as she sat as Resident circuit judge of the criminal court "E" for Montserrado County.
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Such action, they claimed has contributed to the now situation of prison overcrowded Ness at the Monrovia Central Prison and must not be elevated for these wrongs.
They attributed her violation of the rights of pretrial detainees to her inability to successfully tried cases, and insisted that she doesn't legally knows much as is required to ascending on the Supreme Court's Bench, they further insisted that from her records of proceedings from courts she had serve, judge Clinton-Johnson has absolutely nothing to offer on the Supreme Court's Bench, as the Bench is already compounded with Case on appeal and needs an experienced legal practitioner, very versed in the laws, practice and procedure to filled the vacancy and instantly aid the court in the expeditious hearing of matters before the court on appeal and which the now nominee for the post cannot do.
The groups called on the President to immediately withdraw her nomination as maintaining same would mean reverting to business as usual, which this president assured us Liberian will not be the case under his watch as president.
They insist further that nomination to such high office must be on the merits of the nominee's past performances, which is not the case with this nominee for Associate Justice and must need be withdrawn.
The groups insisted that they trust the president's resolve to deviating from the business as usual and that the nomination of Cianeh Clinton-Johnson will be withdrawn and the difference of ensuring that a competent lawyer, free of association and linkage with regime of warlords and economic vampires, is nominated to occupy such prestigious office on the Supreme Court Bench.
