Monrovia, Liberia – In response to allegations of nepotism, Chief Justice Yarmie Quiqui Gbeisay stated on Friday that neither he nor President Joseph Nyuma Boakai had broken the law by designating his son, who is currently in his third year of law school, as an associate magistrate.
According to Chief Justice Gbeisay, who spoke in Lofa County, the controversy surrounding Willeyon Y. Gbeisay’s appointment to the Paynesville Magisterial Court is unwarranted because the law only requires senior (stipendiary) magistrates and not associate magistrates to have a law degree.
“My son is currently a law student and was honorably appointed by the president. That seems OK to me. If you can give me legislation stating that the president cannot appoint a non-lawyer as an associate magistrate, I will quit my job today.”
Chief Justice Gbeisay’s comments followed a strongly worded letter to President Boakai from the National Association of Trial Judges of Liberia (NATJL), headed by Judge Nancy F. Sammy, warning that ignoring the Judicial Institute’s magistrate training pipeline jeopardizes the rule of law and runs the risk of politicizing the lower bench.
