The intestate estate of former President Samuel Kanyon Doe has petitioned the Supreme Court of Liberia for a writ of mandamus to compel the government to honor a binding ECOWAS Court judgment awarding the estate US$18,130,778.09. The petition, filed during the Supreme Court's October Term and assigned to Chamber Justice Jamesetta Howard Wolokolie, argues that the government has "willfully" refused to comply with a final regional court ruling handed down more than five years ago.
The heirs, represented by Doe's daughter and administratrix Nancy B. Doe, are requesting the Court to issue a peremptory order demanding immediate payment. "Petitioner respectfully prays Your Honor... for the issuance of a peremptory Writ of Mandamus compelling the payment of Eighteen Million One Hundred Thirty Thousand Seven Hundred Seventy-Eight United States Dollars and Nine Cents (US$18,130,778.09)," the filing states.
The petitioners ground their request in Section 16.21 of the Civil Procedure Law, which describes mandamus as a special proceeding used to compel performance of a legal duty. They also cite Article 66 of the 1986 Constitution, which grants the Supreme Court authority to issue remedial writs, and Article 20(a), which guarantees enforcement of judicial decisions and due process.
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According to the account detailed in the petition, the late President Doe held several bank accounts in Liberia and internationally, including one with the local branch of the Bank of Credit and Commerce International. In 1993, the then National Bank of Liberia informed the Monthly and Probate Court that roughly US$148,196.50 had been unlawfully withdrawn from one of Doe's accounts "with the complicity of certain government agents." A year later, the Central Bank of Liberia sent a letter to Doe himself, despite his death four years earlier, asking for confirmation of US$4,173,154.98 in deposits linked to the winding up of BCCI. The filing states that this act was meant "to deprive his lawful heirs and the Administratrix of their rights, in clear violation of Article 20(a) of the Constitution."
The petition states that additional deposits were also held up in liquidation processes, bringing the total value to US$5,521,945.53, which the estate says accrued interest at six percent annually until the total reached US$18,130,778.09. The estate references a 2001 attestation by the Attorney General and Minister of Justice confirming that the government had no claim whatsoever to the Doe family's assets. However, the petition alleges that the government later engaged in settlement negotiations in the Cayman Islands "without the participation of, or benefit to, the lawful heirs."
Repeated attempts to obtain bank records and settlement details reportedly failed, leading the estate to bring the issue before the Commercial Court in 2011. After extended litigation, that court ruled in favor of the estate and ordered the Central Bank to pay US$10,482,299.99. However, the Ministry of Justice sought a writ of prohibition from the Supreme Court, which delayed enforcement.
The estate later appealed to the Community Court of Justice of ECOWAS, alleging violations of fundamental property rights under the African Charter on Human and Peoples' Rights and the Universal Declaration of Human Rights. On February 19, 2019, the ECOWAS Court issued its final judgment ordering the Government of Liberia to pay the estate the full amount of US$18.13 million.
"Despite the binding nature of the ECOWAS Court's decision, and despite Liberia being a State Party to the ECOWAS Treaty and the Protocol establishing the Community Court, Respondent has willfully refused to satisfy the said judgment," the estate states.
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The petition states that Liberia's obligation to comply is absolute because the country's accession to ECOWAS and its Supplementary Protocol require enforcement of the Court's decisions. "The duty of the Government of Liberia to satisfy the judgment of the ECOWAS Court is ministerial, not discretionary," the filing emphasizes. It also argues that refusal to pay breaches the Constitution, the African Charter, and Liberia's treaty obligations.
The petitioners are represented by Gongloe & Associates Inc. on Ashmun Street, with Counsellors Tiawan S. Gongloe, Philip Y. Gongloe, Boakai B. Kamara, Daoda M. Keita, and Momolu G. Kandakayi listed as their counsel. In an attached affidavit, Kandakayi affirms that the facts stated in the petition are true "to the best of his knowledge and belief."
The matter was heard in chambers on November 25 at 1:54 p.m. Justice Wolokolie has not yet issued a ruling.
