A veteran Liberian lawyer who once served as the Law Clerk of the Supreme Court of Liberia for over eight years, has sharply reacted to recent calls by some critics of Cllr. Jonathan Massaquoi who are calling for the withdrawal of his appointment.
In his reaction, Cllr. Elisha T. J. Forkeyoh called on civil society actors questioning the neutrality and credibility of Cllr. Jonathan Massaquoi as head of the Office of War Crimes to be sincere in their criticisms.
President Joseph Nyumah Boakai recently appointed Cllr. Massaquoi to head the Office of War and Economic Crimes Court, giving him the matching order to spearhead efforts by designing and prescribe the methodology, mechanisms, and the processes for the establishment of a Special War Crimes Court, as well as a National Anti-Corruption Court for Liberia in line with the President’s Executive Order #131.
The Order also stimulates that the “Office of the War and Economic Crimes Court shall be an astute lawyer of impeccable character, knowledgeable in Liberian Constitutional and Criminal Law, and capable of working with the international communication in formulating the mechanisms, procedures, and processes necessary for establishing a war crimes court and an anti-corruption court for Liberia.
Despite being a License Counselor-at-Law and member of the Supreme Court Bar of Liberia, with over 13 years of experience in the legal field, a group of Civil Society actors under the banner, Coalition for the Establishment of War and Economic Crimes Court in Liberia and the human rights community urged the President to withdraw the nomination citing an alleged conflict of interest as their reliance in connection to the alleged legal representation of Madam Agnes Reeves Taylor and Sierra Leone national Gebril Massaquoi; both of whom were on separate trials for their alleged involvement in the Liberian civil war.
However, in an exclusive interview with our judicial reporter at the Temple of Justice in Monrovia, Cllr. Forkeyoh said the CSOs should rather tailor their arguments or criticisms based on substantive issues.
“For me if they have raised issues of integrity, if they raised issues of Cllr. Massaquoi being involved in the war himself, or if they have raised issues of criminal activities that Cllr. Massaquoi has been involved in; then I could have given credence to whatever they are saying,” the Liberian lawyer said.
Cllr. Forkeyoh asserted that the issues raised by the CSOs and other critics are legally unacceptable and do not warrant any justification whatsoever to prevent Cllr. Massaquoi from serving his country in said portfolio as nominated by the President.
“I don’t see any legal reasoning in whatever they have said; Cllr. Massaquoi is a fine lawyer,” he intimated.
In an attempt to clarify the doubts, Cllr. Forkeyoh insists that the nominee is not the head of the War Crimes Court neither is he the head of the Economic Crimes, stressing that the arguments as proffered by the CSOs has no justification.
“Cllr. Massaquoi is the Executive Director of the Office of the War and Economic Crimes court. Cllr. Massaquoi’s responsibility is to do whatever is necessary for the formation of these courts so that is why they failed to understand,” he asserted.
Commenting on allegations from former TRC Commissioner, Massa Washington that the nominee does not have any integrity to spearhead such a process, the renowned lawyer insists that Cllr. Massaquoi possesses all the credentials to lead such a process.
“One key standard the President used in my opinion is integrity. Qualification; Cllr. Massaquoi is qualified, Cllr. Massaquoi is a man of integrity, Cllr. Massaquoi is an astute lawyer; Cllr. Massaquoi is knowledgeable about the law and all of the processes leading to the establishment of these courts,” he justifies.
While describing the criticisms as baseless, Cllr. Forkeyoh called on Liberians to be sincere in their criticisms especially in regard to the appointment of qualified Liberians to essential positions.
He wants Liberians to desist from the crab mentality and work together as a country to move the nation forward.
Also speaking, Cllr. Amara Sheriff, an astute lawyer and one of those who represented former Associate Justice Mohammed Kabenah Ja’neh said Cllr. Massaquoi’s role as head is straightly administrative and not prosecutorial as claimed by the group.
Sheriff added that Cllr. Massaquoi will be there to put mechanism into place for the preparation of the court contrary to the CSOs accusations.
“He is a lawyer of integrity and also of principles; not a prosecutor,” Sheriff stated.
The expected Executive Director of the WECC appointment is a mark of another significant step in President Boakai’s ARREST agenda which effort is to establish the War and Economic Crimes Court and ends impunity.
This move comes barely two months after the Liberian President signed Executive Order #131, establishing the office to set up a WECC in Liberia.
