By: Joseph G. Bartuah, Jr.
Prior to and at the inception of the 2005 elections, everybody thought George Weah was going to win. His popularity suggested it; the words on the street acknowledged it and Weah himself thought so. In fact, if the constitution did not require the winner to get 51% of the vote, he would have won the race. However, there was a run-off election because Weah did not get the required 51% of the vote. In the runoff election, Weah went head-to-head with Unity’s Party standard-bearer, Mrs. Ellen Johnson Sirleaf. Despite his strong showing, Weah did not win the second round, as Sirleaf was victorious.
From my perspective, the main reason why Weah did not win the election was because of the Unity Party planned propaganda. Remember, the whole Mamie Doe thing? The rumor came out during the runoff election that George Weah had promised Grand Gedeans that he would marry Mamie Doe, if they help him to win the election. That was just a rumor. In fact, that was just politic. Weah, at the time was already a married man. But the politics paid off well. Liberians fell for it; Nimbaians fell for it and even Prince Johnson fell for it and campaigned for Ellen in Nimba County. The runoff campaign turned into a sort of Nimba versus Grand Gedeh election. The rumor worked well because Weah and the CDC party did less to dismiss the story. It is hard to believe this, considering the fact that Weah has a radio and TV stations. Therefore, Weah’s inability to refute a story that was apparently false cost him the election.
Sadly enough, the CDC standard bearer has not learned his lesson. Weah and the CDC have so far, refused to publicly acknowledge the wrong-doing of Deputy Speaker Torkpah Mulbah who happens to be a member of Weah’s Congress for Democratic Change. Recent news reports accused the Deputy Speaker Mulbah of ordering his men to beat an on duty police officer. According to the reports, Officer Beh and other patrolmen were at a check point around the Thinker Village area when a pick up truck arrived with no headlights, tail lights or license plates. The truck was stopped and considered to be in an unsafe condition. The driver got on the phone and began to call his boss, Mr. Mulbah. The phone was handed over to Mr. Beh so that he and Mr. Mulbah can talk. The conversation did not go well and the Deputy Speaker felt insulted. The honorable man arrived at the check point ordering his guys to beat Mr. Beh. The incident has left many Liberians thinking about the fate of law enforcement in the country.
Weah and the CDC’s failure to publicly distance themselves from Mr. Mulbah on his disgruntled behavior clearly shows that the CDC standard-bearer lacks leadership even in his own party. Past and recent developments have shown that Weah’s popularity in his party and with some segments of the Liberian populace is mainly due to his status as a former football icon rather than his leadership capability. If he cannot stand has a leader and tell those in his party whose negative deeds are bringing negative publicity to his party, one wonders how can he muster the leadership acumen to lead Liberia in the future?
Put another way, Weah is like an idol in his party and will like to keep it that way. Therefore, he won’t like to lose any fans of his. Interestingly, this is not Mr. Mulbah’s first embarrassing act against the interest of his party. In 2007, the Supreme Court ordered him to pay $6000 USD to one Tamba, a man whose rubber he had seized. In 2008, police stopped the Deputy Speaker’s car and saw bags of narcotics, a drug that is illegal.
As a person, you will think that his party will call him and advise him after several violations of the law. However, the CDC has chosen to label reactions to the Deputy Speaker’s unbecoming actions as ‘politics”; rather than condemning the story, they claim that politics has been the motivating factor. To be frank, the story is very big on its own. How do you expect people to react when the headline reads: Deputy Speaker order beating of police officer? It will be good if the CDC can think that this is not politics; the deputy speaker’s behavior is outrageous. The Liberian people are outraged that their lawmaker can go into the streets and order people to beat police officers. It is good to keep in mind these officers are doing a very tough job. They are not armed, therefore, they should not be taken advantage of.
In 2006, CDC refused to speak out against the Mamie Doe story. This time they are refusing to speak against the wrong-doing of one of their own, Mr. Mulbah; instead they call it politics. But when October 2011 comes, when the debates begin and polls open, CDC will regret why this story ever came up. They will also regret their reaction and it might cost them an election.
About the author: Joseph G. Bartuah, Jr., 21, is formerly a high school broadcaster from the Rock International Academy in Paynesville. Unlike his dad, who electronically campaigned for candidate Ellen Johnson-Sirleaf from abroad during the 2005 presidential elections, he was in Liberia at the time, although he couldn’t vote due to age disqualification. Joe, Jr. is currently a second-year student at the Bunker Hill College in Boston, majoring in Political Science. He can be reach at his email address jbartuah@hotmail.com.
Tuesday, August 3, 2010
Monday, August 2, 2010
Rethinking Liberia's Public Service
By: Joe Teh
Public service in any country offers great opportunity for leaders to give back to the people self-less stewardship. It’s a vocation of calling, not just for anyone who is not prepared to serve. For those who harbor the voracious get-rich-quick mentality as their primary motivation for entering public service, they’re undoubtedly in the wrong place, because the key is “service”, not “riches”.
The continued misuse of public office and the abuse of power thereof; graft and total lack of interest for the development of Liberia as ostensibly espoused by many public officials in the country tell us that those we choose to lead us careless about us.
Despite the military coup of 1980 and the bloody Charles Taylor’s war of the 1990s, many Liberian public service officials have ignored the tragedies caused by an inefficient government. They have refused to change their attitude about working in government.
No news comes out of Liberia these days without mentioning accountability issues, incidents of human rights violations where public officials abrogate the law unto themselves. In fact, some key cabinet members are even predicting more theft of public funds in the days and years ahead.
These are the same reasons which brought about the military coup in 1980. Charles Taylor and company used these reasons too, to unleash a devastating reign of terror on Liberia for 14 wasted years. Still there’s no improvement.
Consider these recent examples: Deputy House Speaker Tokpa Mulbah, has been indicted by a grand jury on charges of assault. The deputy speaker (CDC-Bong County), ordered the torture of a uniformed police officer for stopping the deputy speaker’s vehicle which had no registration plate on it.
Margibi County Representative Ballah Zayzay, faces allegations of fraud, breach of ethics and conflict of interest. He used his office to win a bid for his private company which took $50,000 of government money and never delivered on the terms of the contract.
Now, former Information Minister, Lawrence Bropleh, dismissed and likely to face prosecution on allegation of theft of more than a quarter million dollars of public funds, wants to seek legislative seat in the 2011 elections.
What a shame. Is this any good example of public service in a country still trying to recover from the ravages of war? Nope. The beneficiaries of public service in Liberia are not the masses who are still waiting to be employed to improve their quality of live, neither the children who are craving for education so they can learn and live beyond what they have experienced with their parents. The beneficiaries of the national wealth are the senior government officials who have access to power and sources of revenue.
And just as audit reports reflecting an Olympic style competition for the pillaging of public funds in Liberia are distressing, not one person has been tried and convicted to be punished. Yet, officials found by audit reports to be liable for missing money from development funds go about their businesses freely and probably plotting to steal more.
The presumption here is that once a public servant, you are also a public master, who assumes private ownership of public money intended for the public good. And once you are satisfied, the public is also satisfied. Wrong.
However, I must acknowledge that there are few political leaders, or cabinet ministers, at least a couple of them that I know in Liberia, with courage to make a positive difference. They offer us hope in spite of the gloom and doom and apathetic picture presented by the official misconduct of their colleagues, that they are potentially the alternatives for change we can live with.
As Liberia is about to start actual reconstruction, rethinking public service is not simply an ethical issue. It is a discipline and moral imperative that require every Liberian to show commitment to the credo: Liberia first. Accomplishing the task of an efficient and disciplined public service involves reforming our individual characters and lifting the national system requirements for public service to the next level.
First, there must be a clear documented policy of conflict of interest. Potential candidates for public office must know what constitute conflict of interest, violation of which could lead to a defined penalty under the law. Second, there must be a written public service code of ethics that specifies public expectations of government officials.
Although the constitution broadly alludes to these requirements, the specifics were left with government, most especially the Legislature to define. Various mechanisms for enforcement and punishment for breach must be detailed in prescription in keeping with the relevant provisions of the law.
Liberia cannot continue to remain the same old way as we have known it. Our current generation of public servants must show a positive example of the kind of legacy we want to leave for our children and posterity. If we must make public policies that will reflect the aspiration of our future, then transformation of our thinking from greediness to integrity is a nonnegotiable prerequisite.
About the author: Joe Teh is a Liberian journalist residing in Springfield, Massachusetts. A familiar fixture in Liberian journalism for the past 25 years or so, Mr. Teh is formerly news editor of the New Democrat Newspaper and later Star Radio in Monrovia prior to immigrating to the U.S.
Public service in any country offers great opportunity for leaders to give back to the people self-less stewardship. It’s a vocation of calling, not just for anyone who is not prepared to serve. For those who harbor the voracious get-rich-quick mentality as their primary motivation for entering public service, they’re undoubtedly in the wrong place, because the key is “service”, not “riches”.
The continued misuse of public office and the abuse of power thereof; graft and total lack of interest for the development of Liberia as ostensibly espoused by many public officials in the country tell us that those we choose to lead us careless about us.
Despite the military coup of 1980 and the bloody Charles Taylor’s war of the 1990s, many Liberian public service officials have ignored the tragedies caused by an inefficient government. They have refused to change their attitude about working in government.
No news comes out of Liberia these days without mentioning accountability issues, incidents of human rights violations where public officials abrogate the law unto themselves. In fact, some key cabinet members are even predicting more theft of public funds in the days and years ahead.
These are the same reasons which brought about the military coup in 1980. Charles Taylor and company used these reasons too, to unleash a devastating reign of terror on Liberia for 14 wasted years. Still there’s no improvement.
Consider these recent examples: Deputy House Speaker Tokpa Mulbah, has been indicted by a grand jury on charges of assault. The deputy speaker (CDC-Bong County), ordered the torture of a uniformed police officer for stopping the deputy speaker’s vehicle which had no registration plate on it.
Margibi County Representative Ballah Zayzay, faces allegations of fraud, breach of ethics and conflict of interest. He used his office to win a bid for his private company which took $50,000 of government money and never delivered on the terms of the contract.
Now, former Information Minister, Lawrence Bropleh, dismissed and likely to face prosecution on allegation of theft of more than a quarter million dollars of public funds, wants to seek legislative seat in the 2011 elections.
What a shame. Is this any good example of public service in a country still trying to recover from the ravages of war? Nope. The beneficiaries of public service in Liberia are not the masses who are still waiting to be employed to improve their quality of live, neither the children who are craving for education so they can learn and live beyond what they have experienced with their parents. The beneficiaries of the national wealth are the senior government officials who have access to power and sources of revenue.
And just as audit reports reflecting an Olympic style competition for the pillaging of public funds in Liberia are distressing, not one person has been tried and convicted to be punished. Yet, officials found by audit reports to be liable for missing money from development funds go about their businesses freely and probably plotting to steal more.
The presumption here is that once a public servant, you are also a public master, who assumes private ownership of public money intended for the public good. And once you are satisfied, the public is also satisfied. Wrong.
However, I must acknowledge that there are few political leaders, or cabinet ministers, at least a couple of them that I know in Liberia, with courage to make a positive difference. They offer us hope in spite of the gloom and doom and apathetic picture presented by the official misconduct of their colleagues, that they are potentially the alternatives for change we can live with.
As Liberia is about to start actual reconstruction, rethinking public service is not simply an ethical issue. It is a discipline and moral imperative that require every Liberian to show commitment to the credo: Liberia first. Accomplishing the task of an efficient and disciplined public service involves reforming our individual characters and lifting the national system requirements for public service to the next level.
First, there must be a clear documented policy of conflict of interest. Potential candidates for public office must know what constitute conflict of interest, violation of which could lead to a defined penalty under the law. Second, there must be a written public service code of ethics that specifies public expectations of government officials.
Although the constitution broadly alludes to these requirements, the specifics were left with government, most especially the Legislature to define. Various mechanisms for enforcement and punishment for breach must be detailed in prescription in keeping with the relevant provisions of the law.
Liberia cannot continue to remain the same old way as we have known it. Our current generation of public servants must show a positive example of the kind of legacy we want to leave for our children and posterity. If we must make public policies that will reflect the aspiration of our future, then transformation of our thinking from greediness to integrity is a nonnegotiable prerequisite.
About the author: Joe Teh is a Liberian journalist residing in Springfield, Massachusetts. A familiar fixture in Liberian journalism for the past 25 years or so, Mr. Teh is formerly news editor of the New Democrat Newspaper and later Star Radio in Monrovia prior to immigrating to the U.S.
Friday, July 30, 2010
Billy Goat and the Price of Indiscipline
By: Joe Bartuah
Boston, MA: 7/30/10--Some of us didn’t grow up in this age of electronic wizardry, in which the marvelous magic of the Internet--texting, e-mailing, face-booking, you-tubing--are now a global phenomenon. Specifically in my case, I hail from one of the remote parts of Liberia, Kaipa, in Yarwin-Mensonon District in Lower Nimba County.
Since we didn’t have the luxury of electronic gadgets, story-telling was one of the primary modes of communication in those days in my part of the world. It was through such medium that the elders endeavored to pass on the words of wisdom, which had been passed on to them by our forefathers, to the younger generation. Admittedly, at this point in time, I can’t remember most of the fireside stories that were so captivating to me during my childhood; they have largely faded into oblivion. I, however, feel obliged to narrate this short story which I can still vividly recollect, especially for the benefit of the younger generation, because it was through these stories that some of us used to quench our thirst for knowledge and guidance from the fountain of wisdom of the old folks.
Basically, the story is about Billy Goat’s inability to leap—to jump or spring to his desired capacity. Billy Goat had long been an over-ambitious animal, very anxious to achieve; he refused to acknowledge that his weakness, his incapacity outweighed his potential. All along, his foremost aim had been to be capable of leaping from tree to tree; to be as acrobatic as monkeys are. For numerous years, Billy Goat intensively trained and rigorously practiced, but to no avail; the highest peak Billy Goat could jump to or climb was a mound hill, a termite hill or “bug-and-bug hill” as we often label it in Liberian parlance.
As time went by, Billy Goat began to worry; the specter of failure, of under-achieving began to haunt him.”You want tell me I’ll continue to be an object of mockery in this town; what will be my legacy?” Billy Goat thought. In the end, he decided to swallow his pride and seek favor from monkeys. And so, Billy Goat quietly planned a pilgrimage to the Monkey Kingdom. By that time, the white people had already introduced the single-barrel guns in Africa; energetic hunters were fiercely disturbing the hitherto joyful, ecstatic tranquil world of monkeys, as a result of which monkeys resolved to relocate their kingdom to the nearly impassable, impenetrable depth of the virgin tropical rainforest.
Despite the daunting nature of such trip, Billy Goat was not deterred, for his obstinate ambition fueled his yearning for the trip; he was inordinately confident about his potential that no amount of coaxing could have dissuaded him. And so, Billy Goat embarked on this onerous trip; he tramped for more than eight hours, arriving at the Monkey Kingdom just when twilight was relieving daylight
Monday, July 26, 2010
Debunking Garlawulo’s Fallacies
07/23/10
Debunking Garlawulo’s Fallacies
By: Joe Bartuah
On many occasions, evidence abounds that some of our compatriots arrogantly take Liberia, our common patrimony for granted. A case in point is the writ of prohibition recently filed at the Supreme Court against the Liberia National Police (LNP) by Counselor Francis Garlawulo on behalf of Deputy Speaker Tokpah Mulbah and his cohorts. Mulbah and his horde of thugs are said have inhumanely brutalized an officer the peace, Mr. Lexington Beh of the LNP. After Mulbah and others had committed such heinous crime against the state, Francis Garlawulo shamelessly believes that Mulbah, who like Garlawulo, hails from Bong County, should be shielded from arrest by section 31 of the Legislative Law of Liberia. He therefore fallaciously claims that attempts by the police to apprehend the thuggish legislator is not only a violation of the Legislative Law of Liberia, but also article 21(b) of the Liberian Constitution.
If Liberia has had solid, continuous democracy in its 163 years of existence, there would have been no need to comment on Garlawulo’s illusionary claims; if we have consistently had elections over the years where elected officials periodically submit themselves to the ultimate verdict of the electorate, where recalcitrant and uncouth officials like Mulbah and others are kicked out of their offices through the might of the ballot box, I won’t have dignified Garlawulo’s whimsical tirade with a comment; I would have otherwise remained reticent until the case was judicially disposed of.
However, our democratic experiment is still embryonic and its relevant institutions--including the judiciary-- are yet to attain their inherent potency, hence the need for the active participation of every one of us, if we as a people, must succeed in this noble endeavor of ensuring the smooth and safe sail of our covetous democratic ship. This is highly imperative because unprincipled, misguided, anti-democratic elements in our midst are clearly bent on manipulating the democratic system to their advantage through all sorts of chicaneries. They resort to such pernicious tactics because quacks, bandits and miscreants all have something in common--they generally thrive in chaos--and some of the very people involved in this particular incident had immensely benefitted from the unprecedented carnage and savageries which plagued Liberia for over 14 years!
And so the bizarre scenario in Monrovia is that Francis Garlawulo, a former Charles Taylor Justice Minister rushes to the Supreme Court and claims that his client, Tokpah Mulbah is a peace-loving, law-abiding, innocent citizen whose fundamental rights are being violated in contravention of section 31 of the Legislative Law and article 21(b) of the Constitution and he partially quotes small portions of the laws that he feels, are favorable to his client.
In a typical Garlawulo fashion, he’s most likely to issue a self-indulging press release, scurry around the offices of multiple media outlets and cunningly seek maximum publicity so that his capricious claims would be propagated as a sort of Gospel before cruising to Mullah’s residence to get the last batch of his “30 pieces of silver”. Just imagine the impact such fabulous publicity on the layman in Liberia where “the counselor” is massively being quoted by the media as saying that the police had violated the law by trying to arrest a criminal suspect. That is one of the reasons why debunking Garlawulo’s fallacies is imperative; our people deserve formidable protection and robust defense against outright falsehood by dishonest and supercilious elements.
To begin with, article II of the 1986 Constitution says any laws, customs and practices that are inconsistent with this organic law are “void and of no legal effect”. It therefore goes without saying that aspects of section 31 of the Legislative Law which give immunity to even the “servants” of lawmakers 30 days before and 30 days after legislative session is not in consonance with the letters and spirit of the constitution and so, those parts are null and void ab initio. As noted in article II, the constitution is the supreme law of Liberia and of course, in the eyes of the constitution, we are all equal before the law. Obviously designating a certain group of people as some sorts of “untouchables” at some particular time of the year is a recipe for chaos. If such law is allowed to continue unchallenged, some elements among such category of citizens would be anxiously lurking until legislative session begins, then they’ll carry on their diabolical, heinous, felonious acts as they just did against officer Beh.
At the moment, there are about 64 Representatives and 30 Senators, making it a total of 94 legislators. I am told that each lawmaker has nine legislative aides. If my information is correct, that will be 846 persons enjoying such unprecedented immunities. Of course, the 846 persons would be the official ones; other hanger-ons, extended relatives and plethora of girlfriends and other associates might fall under the “household” and “servants” distinctions. It’s indisputable that a legislative girlfriend has every right to claim that she’s a “servant” of a legislator. As I see it, this legislative law, as interpreted by Garlawulo, is tantamount to a gross usurpation of basic democratic precepts and therefore, ought to be abrogated forthwith, or to the extent that it is utterly inconsistently with the constitution, it must be considered non-existent.
In any case, let us, for the sake of argument, consider the law as it is. What the apprenticed lawyer in Monrovia failed to acknowledge is that the relevant exceptions in both section 31 of the Legislative Law and article 21(b) of the Constitution became automatically applicable as a result of Mulbah’s devilish acts in concert with his thugs. I am not a lawyer, but as a layman, I sufficiently understand the plain, unequivocal English in which the Liberian constitution and most other laws are written.
While it is true that this self-serving Legislative Law of Liberia prohibits the arrest of any lawmaker and his household members as well as his servants, the same law unambiguously states, “except for treason, felony, or breach of the peace.” In a similar fashion, article 21(b) of the constitution which provides that “search or seizure” of any person or property be carried out with court issued warrant also stipulates, “provided, however, that a search or seizure shall be permissible without a search warrant where the arresting authorities act during the commission of a crime or in hot pursuit of a person who has committed a crime.”
And so, if Francis Garlawulo doesn’t understand or has elected to ignore the stipulations of this simple jurisprudence, the case against Tokpah Mulbah is that by satanically assaulting an officer of the peace, Mulbah has effectively disrobed himself of his legislative immunity and reduced himself to a common criminal, thus rendering himself liable to arrest, detention and prosecution. Garlawulo knows very well that assault and battery is a felonious crime for which law enforcement officers have legitimate authority to search and apprehend the suspects, even without a warrant, followed by a formal charge.
Not only that by assaulting a police officer Mulbah and his accomplices breached the peace of Liberia, but he’s also a fugitive from justice by virtue of the fact that he’s still evading arrest. Being a fugitive is a tacit expression of guilt on the part of the accused.
Finally, I am not surprised that Garlawulo is rushing to the rescue of Mulbah because he and Mulbah are proverbial birds of the same feather and so, they must flock together. In the 1980s, Francis Garlawulo masqueraded the streets of Monrovia as a human rights lawyer. However, when Charles Taylor’s murderous rebel movement came wreaking havoc on peace-starved Liberians, Garlawulo surfaced in Gbarnga and became one of the staunchest ideologues of that atrocious organization. As Taylor’s Justice Minister in Monrovia in the 1990s, Garlawulo personally ordered the flogging and dragging of journalist Sando Moore on the premises of the Justice Ministry at the corner of Ashmun and Buchanan Streets And so, when he’s heard vociferously clamoring about purported constitutional violations, it’s not because he stands for any constitutional principles but because he goes for whatever pecuniary gains, regardless of the moral or legal implications.
About the author: Joe Bartuah is a Liberian journalist residing Boston, Massachusetts. He can be reached at: akesseh06@hotmail.com
Debunking Garlawulo’s Fallacies
By: Joe Bartuah
On many occasions, evidence abounds that some of our compatriots arrogantly take Liberia, our common patrimony for granted. A case in point is the writ of prohibition recently filed at the Supreme Court against the Liberia National Police (LNP) by Counselor Francis Garlawulo on behalf of Deputy Speaker Tokpah Mulbah and his cohorts. Mulbah and his horde of thugs are said have inhumanely brutalized an officer the peace, Mr. Lexington Beh of the LNP. After Mulbah and others had committed such heinous crime against the state, Francis Garlawulo shamelessly believes that Mulbah, who like Garlawulo, hails from Bong County, should be shielded from arrest by section 31 of the Legislative Law of Liberia. He therefore fallaciously claims that attempts by the police to apprehend the thuggish legislator is not only a violation of the Legislative Law of Liberia, but also article 21(b) of the Liberian Constitution.
If Liberia has had solid, continuous democracy in its 163 years of existence, there would have been no need to comment on Garlawulo’s illusionary claims; if we have consistently had elections over the years where elected officials periodically submit themselves to the ultimate verdict of the electorate, where recalcitrant and uncouth officials like Mulbah and others are kicked out of their offices through the might of the ballot box, I won’t have dignified Garlawulo’s whimsical tirade with a comment; I would have otherwise remained reticent until the case was judicially disposed of.
However, our democratic experiment is still embryonic and its relevant institutions--including the judiciary-- are yet to attain their inherent potency, hence the need for the active participation of every one of us, if we as a people, must succeed in this noble endeavor of ensuring the smooth and safe sail of our covetous democratic ship. This is highly imperative because unprincipled, misguided, anti-democratic elements in our midst are clearly bent on manipulating the democratic system to their advantage through all sorts of chicaneries. They resort to such pernicious tactics because quacks, bandits and miscreants all have something in common--they generally thrive in chaos--and some of the very people involved in this particular incident had immensely benefitted from the unprecedented carnage and savageries which plagued Liberia for over 14 years!
And so the bizarre scenario in Monrovia is that Francis Garlawulo, a former Charles Taylor Justice Minister rushes to the Supreme Court and claims that his client, Tokpah Mulbah is a peace-loving, law-abiding, innocent citizen whose fundamental rights are being violated in contravention of section 31 of the Legislative Law and article 21(b) of the Constitution and he partially quotes small portions of the laws that he feels, are favorable to his client.
In a typical Garlawulo fashion, he’s most likely to issue a self-indulging press release, scurry around the offices of multiple media outlets and cunningly seek maximum publicity so that his capricious claims would be propagated as a sort of Gospel before cruising to Mullah’s residence to get the last batch of his “30 pieces of silver”. Just imagine the impact such fabulous publicity on the layman in Liberia where “the counselor” is massively being quoted by the media as saying that the police had violated the law by trying to arrest a criminal suspect. That is one of the reasons why debunking Garlawulo’s fallacies is imperative; our people deserve formidable protection and robust defense against outright falsehood by dishonest and supercilious elements.
To begin with, article II of the 1986 Constitution says any laws, customs and practices that are inconsistent with this organic law are “void and of no legal effect”. It therefore goes without saying that aspects of section 31 of the Legislative Law which give immunity to even the “servants” of lawmakers 30 days before and 30 days after legislative session is not in consonance with the letters and spirit of the constitution and so, those parts are null and void ab initio. As noted in article II, the constitution is the supreme law of Liberia and of course, in the eyes of the constitution, we are all equal before the law. Obviously designating a certain group of people as some sorts of “untouchables” at some particular time of the year is a recipe for chaos. If such law is allowed to continue unchallenged, some elements among such category of citizens would be anxiously lurking until legislative session begins, then they’ll carry on their diabolical, heinous, felonious acts as they just did against officer Beh.
At the moment, there are about 64 Representatives and 30 Senators, making it a total of 94 legislators. I am told that each lawmaker has nine legislative aides. If my information is correct, that will be 846 persons enjoying such unprecedented immunities. Of course, the 846 persons would be the official ones; other hanger-ons, extended relatives and plethora of girlfriends and other associates might fall under the “household” and “servants” distinctions. It’s indisputable that a legislative girlfriend has every right to claim that she’s a “servant” of a legislator. As I see it, this legislative law, as interpreted by Garlawulo, is tantamount to a gross usurpation of basic democratic precepts and therefore, ought to be abrogated forthwith, or to the extent that it is utterly inconsistently with the constitution, it must be considered non-existent.
In any case, let us, for the sake of argument, consider the law as it is. What the apprenticed lawyer in Monrovia failed to acknowledge is that the relevant exceptions in both section 31 of the Legislative Law and article 21(b) of the Constitution became automatically applicable as a result of Mulbah’s devilish acts in concert with his thugs. I am not a lawyer, but as a layman, I sufficiently understand the plain, unequivocal English in which the Liberian constitution and most other laws are written.
While it is true that this self-serving Legislative Law of Liberia prohibits the arrest of any lawmaker and his household members as well as his servants, the same law unambiguously states, “except for treason, felony, or breach of the peace.” In a similar fashion, article 21(b) of the constitution which provides that “search or seizure” of any person or property be carried out with court issued warrant also stipulates, “provided, however, that a search or seizure shall be permissible without a search warrant where the arresting authorities act during the commission of a crime or in hot pursuit of a person who has committed a crime.”
And so, if Francis Garlawulo doesn’t understand or has elected to ignore the stipulations of this simple jurisprudence, the case against Tokpah Mulbah is that by satanically assaulting an officer of the peace, Mulbah has effectively disrobed himself of his legislative immunity and reduced himself to a common criminal, thus rendering himself liable to arrest, detention and prosecution. Garlawulo knows very well that assault and battery is a felonious crime for which law enforcement officers have legitimate authority to search and apprehend the suspects, even without a warrant, followed by a formal charge.
Not only that by assaulting a police officer Mulbah and his accomplices breached the peace of Liberia, but he’s also a fugitive from justice by virtue of the fact that he’s still evading arrest. Being a fugitive is a tacit expression of guilt on the part of the accused.
Finally, I am not surprised that Garlawulo is rushing to the rescue of Mulbah because he and Mulbah are proverbial birds of the same feather and so, they must flock together. In the 1980s, Francis Garlawulo masqueraded the streets of Monrovia as a human rights lawyer. However, when Charles Taylor’s murderous rebel movement came wreaking havoc on peace-starved Liberians, Garlawulo surfaced in Gbarnga and became one of the staunchest ideologues of that atrocious organization. As Taylor’s Justice Minister in Monrovia in the 1990s, Garlawulo personally ordered the flogging and dragging of journalist Sando Moore on the premises of the Justice Ministry at the corner of Ashmun and Buchanan Streets And so, when he’s heard vociferously clamoring about purported constitutional violations, it’s not because he stands for any constitutional principles but because he goes for whatever pecuniary gains, regardless of the moral or legal implications.
About the author: Joe Bartuah is a Liberian journalist residing Boston, Massachusetts. He can be reached at: akesseh06@hotmail.com
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)