Judiciary Rejects Claims of Tribal Influence in Jailing of Former Gompa City Mayor
The Temple of Justice in Monrovia, seat of Liberia's judiciary (file photo, illustrative of Liberia's justice sector, not of the Gompa City court described). Photo: Mixm4stermich, CC BY-SA 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons.
Liberia's Judiciary has pushed back on allegations that tribal considerations or Chief Justice Yamie Quiqui Gbeisay influenced a Gompa City court's decision to jail former mayor Amos Suah for contempt.
Liberia's Judiciary has rejected claims that tribal considerations, or Chief Justice Yamie Quiqui Gbeisay personally, influenced a decision to jail former Gompa City Mayor Amos Suah for 30 days on a contempt of court charge. The sentence was handed down by a Gompa City Magisterial Court.
In a statement, the Judiciary said "the court decided on the law, not tribal sentiment; therefore, the Chief Justice should not be associated with the ruling's outcome." It added that all Liberian courts hold the authority to penalize conduct that obstructs the administration of justice, and reaffirmed its commitment to judicial independence "without regard to ethnicity, county origin, or political affiliation."
The contempt case stems from a long-running land dispute in Gompa City, Nimba County, involving the Kalefa Turay family and occupants of a property the family says it acquired through a public land sale deed dating to 1951. According to the Judiciary, an earlier court judgment favoring the Turay family was never appealed.
Liberia Today will continue to follow this case as it develops.