THE TREASON CASE : A missed opportunity

Madam President, welcome back home. It is good to know that you received a clean bill of health from your medical check-up. Certainly, one of the major news items, if not the biggest news, that you met upon your return home was the “not guilty” decision rendered by Judge Gbenewelleh in the Treason Case.

The condemnation of Judge Gbenewelleh's decision by leading government officials represents a missed opportunity for the government. This condemnation reminds us that in some cases we are still living in the past and repeating the mistakes of the past. The past was characterized by bad governance in which the government maneuvered to win cases it wanted to win without reliance on the rule of law. Any Judge, like Judge Baysah of the Grand Gedeh Circuit Court of the late 1970s', who dared to follow the rule of law and ruled against the government, was considered to be an incompetent Judge by the government. This Judge was not called incompetent before he rendered his decision, but was considered incompetent only after his decision which was unfavorable to the government of the day.

Recently, there was the deportation case of Mr. Chawki Kadouh of K and K Enterprises. When the Assistant Minister for Litigation at the Ministry of Justice ruled that Mr. Kadouh had not committed any offense warranting deportation, his ruling was condemned by his supervisors and he was demoted to a post in Rivercess County . This Assistant Minister took an unprecedented principled move by turning down the new assignment and returning to private legal practice.

Another case, also in a quagmire, involves a leading businessman, Mr. George Haddad. The government detained Mr. Haddad without a charge, released him later and held his travel documents without legal justification. The actions against Messrs. Kadouh and Haddad have a negative impact on their capacities to supply rice. Mr. Haddad has been trying to travel over the past six months to increase his investment in Liberia and to encourage others to invest in Liberia , but the government continues to deny him the right to travel, without legal justification. This action by the government runs counter to its official policy of investment promotion. Investors and potential investors, viewing the treatment of longstanding business people, have revised their investment plans downwards in some cases and cancelled their plans in other cases, with unfavorable effects on employment, production and prices.

In the treason case as well as in the cases of Messrs. Kadouh and Haddad, the government has missed a great opportunity. This government wants people at home and aboard to have confidence in its declaration of seriousness in the promotion of investment and justice for peace. In this direction, the government has embarked upon the preparation of a program for establishing good governance in which judicial reform is central.

A most important piece of evidence that relevant judicial reform is taking place is a demonstration of independence in the Judiciary. Independence of the Judiciary means that the Judiciary pursues professionally and ethically the implementation of the rule of law without fear or favor. Within the context of judicial reform, if a Judge were determined, in a non-personalized way, to be incompetent, then he or she should be removed legally from the judgeship and offered opportunities for becoming competent. It runs counter to the rule of law for an officer of the law to be called incompetent or removed from his or her assignment when a decision in a competent court of jurisdiction is against the perceived interests of leading government officials.

By not declaring that the decisions which run counter to government prosecutors' arguments are concrete examples of judicial reform, the rule of law, and breaking away from the injustices and dictatorship of the past, the government missed a glorious opportunity to demonstrate its commitment to judicial reform, the rule of law and a break away from the past.

Instead of condemning perceived unfavorable decisions, serious and committed government officials should be jumping up and down, shouting with great delight that the accused could win cases against government without threats to their jobs, businesses, lives and properties. In this judicial reform environment, government prosecution would reserve its right of appeal.

Seizing this missed opportunity would have built up confidence in the people of Liberia and friends of Liberia by sending a clear and strong signal of commitment to breaking away from the injustice of the past and entering into the justice of today and the future.

Such a signal would also encourage investors to invest more and potential investors to invest in the Liberian economy. The added investment would mean more and better jobs, more and better products and better prices, as the employed would be able more and more to afford to buy basic commodities.

Let us bring this commentary to a closure by pointing to a ray of hope in your reaction to Judge Gbenewelleh's verdict when you said that “this is democracy”. Now, it is up to you to institutionalize your posture to reverse the condemnation of Judge Gbenewelleh by leading government officials.