–As S/Court Halts Certification
IPNEWS: Supreme Court Associate Justice Joseph N. Nagbe over the weekend placed a stay order on the certification process of Lofa County Senator-elect J. Brownie Samukai, after the Movement for Progressive Change (MPC) had filed a Writ of Prohibition petition.
The Justice in Chamber, Justice Nagbe, sent the Court’s note to the Elections body on Friday, March 5, ordering the NEC to halt all proceedings leading to the certification of Mr. Samukai.
Justice Nagbe’s action is based on a Writ of Prohibition filed to the Court by the opposition political party, Movement for Political Change’s (MPC) Chairman O’Neil Passewa on Tuesday, March 2, 2021.
Based on that, the Associate Justice cited both parties to a conference on Tuesday, March 9, at the hour of 2 p.m.
The Writ reads: “You are hereby ordered to stay all further proceedings and or actions in the matter, pending the outcome of the conference.”
Before the Court and the MPC’s action, the NEC had notified Mr. Samukai and his lawyers that it was working out modalities for his certification process.
On Tuesday, March 2, the NEC Chairperson, Cllr. Davidetta Browne-Lansanah, requested the clerk of the Elections Commission to read the verdict of the Supreme Court and thereafter announced that the certification of Mr. Samukai, as Senator of Lofa County could not go ahead.
Cllr. Browne-Lassanah told Mr. Samukai and his legal team that a date would be announced further. He had been put on pause. However, with the weekend order Justice Nagbe, Mr. Samukai is probably no longer on pause but is now stopped.
Mr. Samukai, a former Defense Minister, ran as a candidate on the ticket of the largest opposition bloc — Collaborating Political Parties (CPP) — in the December 2020 Special Senatorial Election.
He now faces triple hurdles — NEC/Ministry of Justice’s initial indefinite wait, Supreme Court’s Prohibition and MPC’s political claims against him.
MPC contends that people who are in the Senate should be of high moral integrity.
The group, through its chairman, argues that Samukai was indicted and convicted on multiple criminal offenses by the lower court and the lower court’s ruling was upheld by the Supreme Court so they think that he’s not fit to enter the Senate.
He mentioned that Samukai has not restituted the US$1.1 million of which he supposed to pay 50% within six months and thereafter enter appropriate arrangements to pay the remaining portion in one calendar year or go to jail for two years with that he cannot be certificated.
But on Wednesday, February 24, the Supreme Court ruled and said that candidates James K. Marley, Hamet Kromah and Gayflor Tarnue were unable to prove the allegations of fraud and irregularities, which they claimed marred the exercises specifically in District #4 in Lofa County. These men had taken an appeal to the Court after the NEC’s seven-person Board of Commissioners had affirmed their Hearing Officer’s ruling in election matter that Samukai is the winner of the election.
After the Court had heard the matter, it ruled, “Wherefore and in view of the foregoing the ruling of the Board of Commissioners of the National Elections Commission which confirmed the ruling of the Hearing Officer is affirmed. The clerk of this court is ordered to send a mandate to the National Elections Commission to give effect to this judgement. Costs are ruled against the appellants. And it’s hereby so ordered.”
In respect to the mandate of the Supreme Court among other things confirmed the ruling of the Board of Commissioners declaring Browne J. Samukai as winner of the Special Senatorial Election in Lofa County.
The High Court mandate signed by its Clerk Sam Mamolu instructed NEC to resume jurisdiction of the matter.
