Liberia: Supreme Court Rules in Favor of Team Kanubah in Controversial PUL Election
…. Says Justice Nagbe’s err in lifting stay-order on PUL activities
The Supreme Court of Liberia has ruled in favor of the National Campaign Management Team of Julius Kanubah in a case seeking to overturn a controversial mandate by Associate Justice Joseph Nagbe.
In a verdict delivered on Tuesday, 19th December 2023, the Supreme Court ruled that Justice Nagbe made an error by ordering the lifting of a Stay Order on the activities of the former administration of the Press Union of Liberia, including the induction of officers-elect. According to the Supreme Court, Justice Nagbe failed to issue an alternative writ, thereby denying the Kanubah Campaign Team their right to due process.
The court stated, “It was, therefore, an error on the part of the Justice in Chambers to have ordered the trial judge to set aside his stay order imposed without issuing the alternative writ and determining the information filed before him.”
The Stay Order was initially imposed on December 15, 2022, by Judge J. Boimah Kontoe of the Ninth Judicial Circuit Court in Bong County. The order was placed pending a legal determination of a Petition for Declaratory Judgment filed by the Kanubah Campaign Team on November 18, 2022.
In its Tuesday, December 19, ruling, the Supreme Court instructed the Clerk of Court to send a mandate to the Ninth Judicial Circuit Court, ordering the presiding Judge to resume jurisdiction and proceed in accordance with the law regarding Team Kanubah's Petition for Declaratory Judgment.
The verdict is seen as a significant victory for the Kanubah Campaign Team, as it reinforces and strengthens the Judge's original Stay Order, preventing Charles Coffey, Daniel Nyakonah, Musa Kenneh, Akoi Baysah, and their collaborators from conducting affairs within the Press Union of Liberia.
The ruling was signed by Chief Justice Sie-A-Nyene G. Yuoh, Associate Justice Jamesetta Howard Wolokolie, and Associate Justice Yussif D. Kaba. Associate Justices Joseph N. Nagbe and Yamie Quiqui Gbeisay, Sr. recused themselves from the case during a hearing on May 2, 2023, to avoid any conflict of interest.
In response to the verdict, the National Campaign Management Team of Julius Kanubah and Beatrice Sieh, for the leadership of the Press Union of Liberia, will hold a press conference on December 20, 2023, in Monrovia.
Team Kanubah, in a statement signed by its National Campaign Chairman, Raymond K. Zarbay, expressed gratitude to their supporters, members of the Press Union of Liberia, and sympathizers, acknowledging their overwhelming support and patience as the team seeks justice and accountability in the face of alleged acts of fraud by the former PUL administration led by Charles Coffey, Daniel Nyakonah, Musa Kenneh, Akoi Baysah, and their collaborators.