Rights and advocacy groups for the establishment of the war and economic crimes court, with the purpose of ending impunity and vindicating the rights of victims in Liberia, have condemned the nomination of Judge Cianeh Clinton-Johnson as Associate Justice of the Supreme Court, claiming that her seating will undermine the objectives for the establishment of the war and economic crimes court for Liberia. They are therefore calling on President Joseph Nyumah Boakai to consider withdrawing the nomination, as it is untimely and not in the best interest of the country.
Speaking to newsmen over the weekend, representatives of the rights groups strongly argued that the nomination of Cianeh Clinton-Johnson, wife of the former Justice Minister, Cllr. Lavala Koboi Johnson—of the despotic rebel regime of the notorious warlord and regime perpetrator of war and economic crimes, Charles G. Taylor—as an Associate Justice of the Supreme Court Bench is not feasible at this time and will certainly strengthen the hands of indictees for war and economic crimes.
They argued further that the nominee cannot be the best suited for the highly prestigious and influential post of Associate Justice, in the face of the fight against impunity by President Boakai.
The rights and advocacy groups, through their respective representatives, insisted that Clinton-Johnson’s seating on the Supreme Court’s Bench would compromise the justice system, strengthen the arms of war and economic crimes perpetrators under the Taylor regime and undermine the very aims and objectives for the establishment of the war and economic crimes court. The rights activists and groups condemned the President’s nomination of Cianeh Clinton-Johnson, and called on him to most respectfully withdraw her nomination as it is not in the best interest of the nation and its people.
Besides, they called on the President to note that, gathering from their record of the violation of the rights of pretrial detainees at courts within and surrounding Montserrado County, Judge Cianeh Clinton-Johnson is on record for denying rape suspects, 99% of whom are males, access to justice due to her failure to proceed with the trial and conclusion of their matters as she sat as Resident Circuit Judge of Criminal Court “E” for Montserrado County, thereby contributing highly to the over-crowdedness of the Monrovia Central Prison. They said she must not be elevated for these wrongs.
They attributed her violation of the rights of pretrial detainees to her inability to successfully try cases, and alleged that legally she does not know much, as is required of an individual to ascend to the Supreme Court’s Bench. They further alleged, “From her record of proceedings from courts she has served, Judge Clinton-Johnson has absolutely nothing to offer on the Supreme Court’s Bench, as the Bench is already compounded with cases on appeal and needs an experienced legal practitioner, very versed in the law, practice and procedure to filled the vacancy and instantly aid the court in the expeditious hearing of matters before the court on appeal, which the now nominee for the post cannot do.”
They therefore called on President Boakai to immediately withdraw her nomination, as maintaining her would mean reverting to business as usual, which he assured Liberians will not be the case under his watch as President. They alleged further that nomination to such a high office must be on the merits of the nominee’s past performance, which is not the case with this nominee for Associate Justice, and should be withdrawn. They insisted that they trust the President’s resolved commitment to deviating from business as usual, and that with these cogent information the nomination of Cianeh Clinton-Johnson would be withdrawn and the difference of ensuring that a competent lawyer, free of association and linkage with regime of warlords and economic vampires, is nominated to occupy such a prestigious office on the Supreme Court Bench.