The Chairman of the Coalition for Democratic Change (CDC), Janga Augustus Kowo, has warned the General Auditing Agency (GAC) against subjecting its constitutional functions to what they called President Joseph Nyuma Boakai’s political mandate to investigate suspended individuals at the Governance Commission and Liberia Telecommunications Authority.
Recently, President Joseph Nyuma suspended Garrison Yealue, Chairperson, and Madam Elizabeth Dorkin, Commissioner of the Governance Commission (GC) with immediate effect for activities inconsistent with the Act creating the institution and Madam Edwina C. Zackpah, Israel Akinsanya, Zotawon D. Titus, James Gbarwea, and Osborne K. Diggs, Chairperson and Commissioners respectively of the Liberia Telecommunication Authority (LTA) and urged the suspended officials to cooperate fully with the investigation.
Prior to their suspension, they were unlawfully dismissed and replaced with other individuals by the President but the individuals took flight to the Supreme Court challenging the President’s decision.
The High Court later ruled in their favor and the ruling was welcomed by President Boakai. Addressing a news conference Monday, April 29, 2024 in Congo Town, the Kowo said the acceptance of the court’s ruling by the President was hypothetical.
He said just a few hours after the unconscionably dismissed individuals won the Liberian Leader, Boakai violated the 1986 Liberian Constitution by “shamelessly suspending those individuals.”
According to him, GAC should not subject itself to the political mandate of the President to investigate those same individuals and called on President Boakai to stop politicizing the independent functions of the GAC.
“It is a clear contravention of the GAC Act for the President after taking a political decision, to unlawfully mandate the GAC to launch an investigation involving those whose rights have been violated. The GAC does not need to get an instruction from anyone, including the President before conducting an investigation,” Attorney Kowo stressed.
