IPNews-Monrovia,Liberia-15 August 2018: Members of the 54th House of Representatives have trashed a writ of prohibition sent to it recently by the Supreme Court and threatening additional vigorous actions leading to the impeachment proceedings of Associate Justice Kabineh Ja’neh.
During Tuesday, August 14, seating of the House of Representative, members of the House of Representatives, unanimously agreed not to appear before the Supreme Court bench to answer to questions contained in the writ of prohibition.
It may be recalled the Independent Probe in its Monday, August 13,2018, online edition reported that impeccable sources at the Legislature had indicated members of the house of Representative were planning yet another resistance to the Supreme Court writ of prohibition on grounds of interference into its workings which undermines the doctrine of ‘separation of power’ , provided in the constitution of Liberia.
According to Montserrado County Electoral District #8 Representative, Moses Acarous Gray, (Lead campaigner for the impeachment Bill) reminded members of that body that any attempt for the House to subject itself to a writ of prohibition issued them by the Supreme Court will circumvent the doctrine of separation and call on them to uprightly reject it.
Representative Gray noted that the action of the presiding justice in chambers, Her Honor Sie-A-Yuoh , is a calculated attempt to undermine ongoing impeachment Bill submitted to it committee on Judiciary .
He further added that the decision of the Supreme Court to issue the House of Representative, a writ of prohibition and subsequent summons is tantamount to the ‘creation of a tyrannical branch of government’.
Representative Gray stressed further that members of the House of Representatives should not allow any member of the House, or the Speaker, Hon. Bhofal Chambers, to appear before the Supreme Court.
Other Representative such as Gee County District #1 Representative Francis S. Dopoe, and Montserrado County District #17 Representative Hanson Kiazolu, expressed similar outraged to the writ of prohibition of the Supreme Court terming it as a total violation to the constitution of the Republic of Liberia.
The lawmakers narrated further that as far as members of the House of Representatives are concerned, they were not in any procedural error which warrant them to ahead to the summons by the presiding justice in chambers, Her Honor Sie-A-Yuoh .
It may be recalled that on Thursday, August 9, 2018, Associate Justice Kabineh Ja’neh filed before the honorable Supreme Court a writ of prohibition against the House of Representative for the impeachment.
The petition by His Honor Kabineh Mohammed Ja’neh, Associate Justice of the Supreme Court of Liberia, requested the Supreme Court that the House of Representative proved what it meant by ‘misconduct, abuse of public office, wanton abuse of judicial discretion, frauds, misuse of power, as contained in their Bill of impeachment
Inthe writ of summon to the House of Representative thru House Speaker Bhofal Chambers, the presiding justice in chambers, Her Honor Sie-A-Yuoh commanded Brig. General Amos B. Kesseh Dickson, Sr., Marshall, honorable Supreme Court of Liberia, to notify the honorable of Representative in a petition for writ of prohibition filed by petitioner His Honor Kabineh M. Jan’eh, Associate Justice of the honorable Supreme Court.
The writ of summon also instructed the House of Representative to appear before Her Honor Sie-A-Yuoh on August 18, at 9:00 Anti Meriden, to show cause why the petitioner’s petition as prayed for should not be granted.
The citation further instructed the House of Representative by and thru the House Speaker Bhofal Chambers, to stay all further proceedings in the matter for the impeachment for his honor Kabineh Ja’neh, and that the parties are ordered returned to status quo ante, pending the disposition of the petition.
Furthermore, the presiding justice in chambers, Her Honor Sie-A-Yuoh, instructed the House of Representative to file it returns to the writ, in the office of the Clerk of the Honorable Court on or before 18th August 2018, including the House of Representative by and thru Speaker Bhofal Chambers, to filed an official returns at the back of the original writ of prohibition in the office of the honorable clerk of the supreme court, on or before August 18, 2018.
