Boakai Repeats Ellen, Weah’s Precedence
This week the Supreme Court of Liberia strike President Joseph Boakai over his appointment to tenure positions in early January 2024, which comes as a major legal challenge to his government.
The Supreme Court in its much-anticipated ruling on Wednesday, April 24, 2024, ordered President Boakai to withdraw all nominees made to positions of tenured.
In its ruling, the full bench of the Supreme Court stated that President Joseph Boakai violated the law of Liberia on tenure position and thus revoked the president nominations for tenure positions in four key Agencies, citing ‘law violation and denial of due process’.
Consequently, the Supreme Court ruling mandates that the heads of the Liberia Telecommunication Authority (LTA), Governance Commission, the Liberia Lottery and the Liberia Identification Registry will retain their respective positions.
The government swiftly responded by welcoming the Supreme Court’s ruling and satisfied its fullest adherence.
The President reaffirmed his commitment to upholding the rule of law and will, therefore, honor the rulings of the High Court. President Boakai believes that strict adherence to the rule of law is fundamental to strengthening institutions and building a vibrant democracy.
This principle, he noted, is at the core of the government’s ARREST AGENDA that focuses on Agriculture, Roads, Rule of Law, Education, Sanitation, and Tourism. The President pointed out that the rulings of the Supreme Court also set a significant benchmark for administrative actions and the procedures leading thereto. That benchmark, President Boakai said, will have significant implications for all government agencies and the country as a whole.
Within less then 24hrs, President Joseph N. Boakai, has suspended the entire board of commissioners at the Liberia Telecommunications Authority, in what political pundits say is a procedural precedence set by former Presidents Ellen Johnson Sirleaf in 2009 and George Weah in 2020.
The Liberian leader suspends the board of commissioners at the Liberia Telecommunications Authority with immediate effect and has written the General Auditing Commission to conduct a comprehensive audit of the entity.
In a communication to the commissioners, President Boakai highlighted “questionable” financial dealings and the controversy surrounding the over US$4.6 million headquarter project in which over US$2 million was spent since last year with little to show for it.
President Boakai’s decision comes in the wake of the Supreme Court’s ruling nullifying Boakai’s appointments to tenured positions citing procedural errors.
Meanwhile, President Boakai has appointed an Acting Board of Commissioners at the LTA while the suspended commissioners undergo investigations.
Those appointed are Abdullah Kamara, Chair, Patrick Honnah, Clarence Massaquoi, Angela Bush and Ben Fofana, those of whom appointment sparked the controversy leading to the Supreme Court’s ruling.
It can be recalled that former President Ellen Johnson Sirleaf in 2009, asked the LTA board of commissioners to resign or get dismissed for their contribution to the 2008/2009 budget shortfall. President Sirleaf later suspended the entire board and subjected them to investigation.
Similarly, in June 2020, former President George Weah suspended the then Chairperson of LTA Ivan Brown for “administrative reasons” among other things and asked him to turn over the entity’s assets in his possession.
In both cases, none of those suspended Commissioners in 2009 and 2020 returned following their separate investigations.
The recent argument by the new Justice Minister Oswald Tweh at the Supreme Court appears to have given a new version of President Boakai’s legal advisor, Cllr. Bushuben Keita.
