United States Department of State in its 2021 Country Report on Human Rights, has pointed to the lack of independence in the Liberian judiciary system.
The report authoritatively stated that judges and magistrates were subject to influence and engaged in corruption.
“Judges sometimes solicited bribes to try cases, grant bail to detainees, award damages in civil cases, or acquit defendants in criminal cases.
Defense attorneys and prosecutors sometimes suggested defendants pay bribes to secure favorable decisions from judges, prosecutors, and jurors or to have court staff place cases on the docket for trial,” the report stated.
The judiciary has always come under criticism for acts of bribery and corruption, which has also been condemned continuously by the Chief Justice.
During the opening of the May Term of Criminal Courts, Chief Justice Korkpor decried the involvement of judges in bribery and cautioned them to desist from the practice because it tarnished the image of the judiciary.
According to the report, judicial officials and prosecutors are often subject to pressure, while the outcomes of some trials are predetermined, especially in cases involving persons who are politically or socially influential.
The U.S. State Department wondered by Cllr. Syrennius Cephus, the Solicitor General was never invited for questioning by the Liberia Anti-Corruption Commission (LACC) despite several media reports accusing him of exerting direct influence over and having inappropriate contacts with judges as well as defendants involved in his cases.
According to the Report, Judge Roland Dahn of the Eighth Judicial Circuit Court in Nimba County and Magistrate Victoria Duncan of the Kakata Magisterial Court in Margibi County both admitted to ex parte call exchanges between them and Senate Secretary Nanborlor Singbeh while handling separate criminal cases of alleged corruption in the maritime industry against Singbeh and several other defendants, including Chapman Logan, chief executive officer of Logan & Logan Group, a company in the maritime industry.
A foreign investor, Hans Armstrong, who was also under investigation for alleged corrupt practices in the maritime industry, filed a complaint before the Judicial Inquiry Commission – an auxiliary commission established within the judiciary with the exclusive power and authority to receive and investigate complaints against judges of courts of record and non-record for violation of any provision of the Judicial Canons – that Senate Secretary Nanborlor Singbeh was receiving preferential treatment from Judge Dahn and Magistrate Duncan because of his political position. Armstrong’s complaint reportedly prompted Chief Justice Korkpor to communicate to the Judicial Inquiry Commission through its chairperson, Associate Justice Yussif Kaba.
The report was released on Tuesday by U.S. Secretary of state Antony J. Blinken. He also highlighted other corruption related issues in other African countries including Ivory Coast.
See full report on Liberia below
https://www.state.gov/reports/2021-country-reports-on-human-rights-practices/liberia
