Monrovia, Liberia – The Supreme Court of Liberia has released from prison seven traditional leaders of Bong County after serving three months jail sentence.
The quest by the high court to have the convicts released was based on a request for pardon prayed for in a communication to the court by the defendant’s lawyers back with surety.
Commissioner Daniel Tubman, Acting City Mayor of Totota City Clinton Brown, Acting General Town Chief of Totota City Robert Sulu, and Youth Leader of Salala District Miller Bondo are the individuals who are presently incarcerated.
On Wednesday, April 12, 2023, Chief Justice Yuoh read a ruling from the Supreme Court and stated that the court could not approve the plea for a pardon but would instead grant them parole.
She asserted that, rather than merely following the letter of the law, the Supreme Court’s decision to pardon a particular violator of its penalty is a matter of judicial discretion.
She maintains that the Supreme Court has the authority to provide the petitioners mercy if their detention calls for it.
In addition to expressing regret for their actions, Chief Justice Yuoh observed that the petitioner had already spent three months of the six-month sentence of incarceration imposed by the top court. She claimed that the traditional leaders in their community had pledged to uphold the republic’s judicial system’s integrity and dignity at all times by adhering by the law.
The convicts’ plea for further release from detention was nevertheless granted by chief justice Yuoh, with the condition that they report once per month to the ministerial officer of their individual magisterial court, who will keep track of their attendance.
It can be recalled the convicts were held in contempt of court by the Supreme Court for their actions after the Judge ruled against their kinsman. Others include Joseph Kollie, the Acting Paramount Chief of the Fuahmah Chiefdom, Varfee Sirleaf, the Poro Gorve Operator in Salala District, and Ernest White, the Cultural Advisor.
In its ruling on Wednesday, April 12, 2023, the high court stated that it has the innate power to punish acts of contempt that compromise the impartiality and integrity of the judiciary as well as constitutional obligations.
The ruling also indicated that those found in contempt had systematically vandalized the Magisterial Courts in Bong County’s Salala, Gbartala, and Bong Mines.
As a result, the Supreme Court stated in its ruling that the actions taken by the chiefs, commissioners, and mayors violated the separation of powers principle enshrined in the Constitution as well as the immunity afforded to judicial officers when discharging their duties.
As their sentence begins on the date the verdict is rendered, the court justices have declared the contemptuous guilty of the offense of criminal contempt of the judicial branch of government.
Reported by: G. Watson Richards
Contact: +231880381808
