Justice Ja’neh Impeachment Gets Tough

-Chambers, Gray, Fallah Drag To Court, On Writ Of Prohibition

By R. Joyclyn Wea

The impeachment proceedings of Associate Justice Kabineh Ja’neh seem to be getting tougher by the day as some members of the 54^th National Legislature have been dragged to the Supreme Court on a writ of prohibition filed against the House by legal counsel Representing Associate Justice Ja’neh.

The Supreme Court of Liberia through its Justice in Chamber, Sie-A-Nyene G. Youh, over the weekend instructed members of the House of Representatives to stop all further actions of impeachment proceedings against Associate Justice Kabineh M. Ja’neh pending the outcome of a hearing.

Associate Justice Youh further ordered both parties to return to status quo ante, pending the disposition of the petition.

The writ of prohibition grew out of a petition for the impeachment of Justice Kabineh Ja’neh, for alleged proved of ‘misconduct, abuse of public office, wanton abuse of judicial discretion, frauds, misuse of power.’

Justice Youh order came in the heels of a petition for a writ of prohibition filed with the court by Cllr. Arthur Johnson on behalf of Associate Justice Kabineh Ja’neh (petitioner) against the action of some members of the House of Representatives of the 54^th National Legislature headed by Speaker Bhofal chambers (respondents).

The stay order is also in reference to a petition for the impeachment of Justice Ja’neh by two of CDC’s lawmakers (Acarous Gray and Thomas Fallah) on allegation of misconduct abuse of public office, wanton abuse of judicial discretion, fraud, misuse of power and corruptions amongst other things.

In the order, Justice Youh commanded the High Court’s Marshell Brigadier General Amos B. Dickson or his deputy to notify the House of Representatives of the 54^th National Legislature through its Speaker Bhofal Chambers to appear before the Associate Justice presiding in the Supreme Court on August 18, 2018 at the hour of 9:00am, to show cause why the petitioner’s petition as prayed for should not be granted.

The writ indicated “you are commanded to instruct the respondents to stay all further proceedings in the matter and that the parties are ordered to returned to status quo ante, pending the disposition of the petition. You are further commanded to instruct the respondents herein, to file its returns to this writ, in the office of the clerk of this court on or before the said 18^th day of august A.D. 2018. To read to the respondent the original and leave a copy of the has filed before the honorable Supreme Court a writ of prohibition with the respondents.”

It can be recalled on July 17, 2018, Representatives Thomas Fallah of District #5, and Acarous Gray of district #8, Montserrado County submitted a petition to the House of Representatives through Bhofal Chambers, Speaker of the House of Representatives, for the impeachment of the petitioner (Kabineh M. Ja’neh) Associate Justice of the Supreme Court of Liberia.

The petition on allegations of “proved Misconduct, Abuse of Public Office, Wanton Abuse of Judicial Discretion, Fraud, Misused of Power and Corruption” as the bases for the impeachment of the petitioner.

Upon receipt of the impeachment petition, the Speaker forwarded the petition to a Special Ad Hoc Committee which he constituted to review the petition and submit a report to the plenary within three (3) weeks.