Editorial

The Constant Obstruction and Interference of Justice by Politicians is Undemocratic and Should Stop Now and Immediately

There have been a lot of obstructions of justice in recent times and over the years. The Justice System of any country should be seen as independent, by allowing them to freely go about their business, void of any intimidation or interferences from anybody or higher ups.

The justice system of a country has the sole responsibility of that branch of government to render that justices adequately perform their duties peacefully and amicably. It can be a record as a normal practice in Liberia, something that needs to stop and stop now. During the former regime of President Sirleaf, for instance, there had been several challenges faced by the justice system of the country, taking into consideration arrests and cases that were interfered with, either by heads of political parties or higher ups, and those out of government.

All citizens are under obligation to express themselves freely, according to the constitution of the land, but also they are under obligation for whatever statements they make. Everyone should be responsible for whatever he or she says or does, and as such, can be called in at any time to give justification based upon the statement made by state security and when that statement borders on national security concerns. Just to recall a few instances, the likes of Vandelark Patricks, now City Mayor Jeff Kojee, District 8 Representative Icarous Gray, Archie Sannor, Henry Costa and Simeon Freeman were all seen quote unquote advocating for the Liberian people and bringing the government’s feet to the fire, which was a good thing to do, but on the other hand their actions and statements made at that time were seen as a threat to national security of which they were dragged to court and subsequently place behind bars for their actions and so forth. While it’s true that advocacy is a good thing to do, it should be done within the confines of the law.

At some point, Amb. Weah, now President, female lawyers and other prominent people in the country were seen in the justice system in an effort to make their presence known. We want to make it clear that there should be no interference with our justice system.

A strong and dynamic democracy depends entirely on its justice system. Moving forward, there should absolutely be no interference with the justice system so as to give that independent body a clear picture of their outcome of being factual, credible, and worthy. No one, from higher ups or anywhere, should be seen blocking the rules of law. Just in recent times, the Secretary General of the former governing party, Mo Ali, was seen being blocked from facing justice in a Facebook post he did in March of this year that was counterproductive. He was called in by the police to give further clarity on his statement. We deeply frown on political leaders and higher ups to stop melting and undermining the justice system with their presence or whatever. Every person or persons should be held liable for his utterances and face the full wit of the law. It’s the government’s responsibility to protect the state and call out whoever makes comments that have the propensities of undermining the states.

The actions of the interference by the political leaders of the UP and the collaborating political parties was quite unfortunate and it needs to stop. The justice system should not be a place for politics, but rather a strong democratic ground for prosecuting those that are involved with reckless statements or undermining the peace and sanctity of the country. We say no to obstructing justice and let justice be adequately applied to all men, void of interferences.

It can also be recalled last year, Menipakei Dumoe of the CPP made a similar reckless statement that had the propensity of threatening the peace and sanctity of the country. Saying through his Facebook page that don’t give us rice, give us guns. These statements were reckless and unfortunate. When he was being arrested, the very same party leaders were all over the place and interfering with the justice system in his release. We condemned this act and called on every well meaning Liberian to be patriotic and stop the obstruction of justice in the country. This is totally unacceptable and needs to stop.”

It can also be recalled in recent days that a stalwart of the ANC, Jethro Harris, made a damming post on the social media which, according to the government was spurious, fallacious, and only intended to blackmail the image of the government as being unable to properly govern the country, which subsequently led to his arrests and incarceration. We want to state categorically clear that the justice system of the country should be seen independently and that no one absolutely should obstruct justice for any reasons whatsoever.

The head of the ANC, Mr. Cummings, was seen obstructing justice and in support of his member who was incarcerated on grounds of publishing spurious and fallacious information on social media. We as a people frown on this, and see it as totally unacceptable. The government encourages freedom of speech, but as such, every citizen should be held liable for their utterances. A government led by the ANC will surely not condone citizens who display false information in the country. This is what tends to detract from the progress of the government. We are saying no to anybody filibustering justice. The representative of District 10, Yekeh Kolubah, is also found in these unfortunate and reckless remarks. The statements of these stewards of the CPP are not only appalling, but also dangerous to the survival of the nation, peace and sanctity. Rep Kolubah is always seen hurling insults at the presidency with no facts. We find him in a constant pattern of creating problems and lying in the country. This must stop, and it is the government’s responsibility to call and punish anyone found spreading lies and untruths about the country and the government. We want to call on all state actors to stay away from the justice system so that it can do its work properly and efficiently. We say no to obstructionism, no interference. Let the law take its course moving forward.

As we wind down our findings and inquiry, we want to condemn the presence as well of LP Nyonblee Kangar Lawrence and all others CPP members for the deliberate obstruction and intimidating comments made. This is quite unfortunate and it needs to stop and stop now. In order to have a very vibrant democratic standard of our justice system that can be attributed to best international practices, we need to stop these kinds of unfortunate interferences and intimidating comments. Let the law take its course to anyone who has been found an offender. We want to also call on our international partners as well to take note of all this.

Absolutely no government is perfect and let politicians always express all of their grievances and dissatisfaction through their lawyers whenever they are in conflict with the law. Justice to one, justice to all. Let the rules of law rest on anyone and let the outcome be seen as credible, authentic and trustworthy. Stop the interference, stop the intimidation, stop the outlandish comments and let us build a vibrant democracy and a sustainable justice system in our country.

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