By: Staff Writer
Capitol Hill – The Supreme Court has denied a petition for a writ of prohibition filed by several former government officials.
The petitioners included Samuel Tweah, Nyenati Tuan, Stanley S. Ford, Moses Cooper, and Jefferson Karmoh. Respondents in the case were Judge Roosevelt Willie, the Ministry of Justice, and the Liberia Anti-Corruption Commission.
The High Court emphasized that only individuals expressly named or co-opted by the President under the National Security Council statute have legal immunity.
Claims of immunity by the former Finance Minister and other former officials were ruled unlawful.
Article 61 of the 1986 Liberian Constitution grants personal immunity only to the sitting President, not to other members of the executive branch.
The petition, including alternative and peremptory writs, was denied, and the lower court was ordered to resume jurisdiction over the matters.
Justices Wolokolie and Clinton Johnson recused themselves, while Chief Justice Gbeisay and Justices Kaba and Kanneh delivered the judgment.
