Monrovia — The Civil Law Court of Monrovia has ruled in favor of Wilmot Smith, the dismissed Deputy Director General for Information Coordination at the Liberia Institute of Statistics and Geo-Information Services (LISGIS), ordering the government of Liberia to reinstate him and pay all his withheld entitlements.
The court's ruling, handed down by Judge George Wah-Harris Smith on Friday, January 3, also declared Smith's dismissal by former President George Weah in 2023, as illegal and unconstitutional.
The court ordered the current administration, led by President Joseph Boakai, to ensure the immediate payment of all back wages, allowances, and benefits owed to Smith since his removal from office.
Grounds for the Ruling
Smith was dismissed amid allegations of financial misconduct involving funds allocated for enumerators. The accusations, widely publicized on Spoon TV and linked to LISGIS account statements allegedly leaked by Ecobank-Liberia employee Yussif Kromah, were found to be unsubstantiated.
Judge Wah-Harris held that the dismissal violated both the Constitution of Liberia and the Act establishing LISGIS, which grants autonomy to the institution.
"The dismissal of Wilmot Smith was illegal and wrongful," Judge Wah-Harris ruled, emphasizing that the president does not have the authority to unilaterally remove LISGIS officials.
Smith's legal counsel, Cllr. Arthur Johnson argued, that the dismissal breached due process and contravened the LISGIS Act and Article 89 of the Liberian Constitution.
"The Act creating LISGIS explicitly limits the president's powers to the initial appointment of the Board of Directors and the Director General. Thereafter, the Board has the sole authority to appoint or dismiss officials," Johnson stated.
He further argued that Smith's removal without due process violated Chapter III, Article 20 of the Constitution, which guarantees fair treatment in judicial and administrative proceedings.
Smith maintained that his dismissal was orchestrated based on manipulated evidence.
He claimed that LISGIS account statements had been tampered with by individuals, including Stanton Witherspoon, Martin K.N. Kollie, and Alex Williams, in an attempt to incriminate him.
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"The Constitution and the LISGIS Act provide tenure and autonomy to officials of LISGIS. My removal by the former president was not only a violation of my rights but also an abuse of power," Smith asserted.
This ruling puts the Boakai government under immediate obligation to comply with the court's orders.
In addition to reinstating Smith, the administration has been mandated by the court to calculate and pay all withheld salaries, benefits, and allowances.
