Liberia: Court Orders Reinstatement of LISGIS Deputy Director, Calls for Fee of Withheld Advantages
Monrovia – The Civil Law Court of Monrovia has dominated in favor of Wilmot Smith, the dismissed Deputy Director General for Information Coordination on the Liberia Institute of Statistics and Geo-Information Services (LISGIS), ordering the federal government of Liberia to reinstate him and pay all his withheld entitlements.
By Willie Tokpah, [email protected]
The courtroom’s ruling, handed down by Judge George Wah-Harris Smith on Friday, January 3, additionally declared Smith’s dismissal by former President George Weah in 2023, as unlawful and unconstitutional.
The courtroom ordered the present administration, led by President Joseph Boakai, to make sure the fast fee of all again wages, allowances, and advantages owed to Smith since his removing from workplace.
Grounds for the Ruling
Smith was dismissed amid allegations of monetary misconduct involving funds allotted for enumerators. The accusations, broadly publicized on Spoon TV and linked to LISGIS account statements allegedly leaked by Ecobank-Liberia worker Yussif Kromah, have been discovered to be unsubstantiated.
Judge Wah-Harris held that the dismissal violated each the Constitution of Liberia and the Act establishing LISGIS, which grants autonomy to the establishment.
“The dismissal of Wilmot Smith was illegal and wrongful,” Judge Wah-Harris dominated, emphasizing that the president doesn’t have the authority to unilaterally take away LISGIS officers.
Smith’s authorized counsel, Cllr. Arthur Johnson argued, that the dismissal breached due course of and contravened the LISGIS Act and Article 89 of the Liberian Constitution.
“The Act creating LISGIS explicitly limits the president’s powers to the initial appointment of the Board of Directors and the Director General. Thereafter, the Board has the sole authority to appoint or dismiss officials,” Johnson acknowledged.
He additional argued that Smith’s removing with out due course of violated Chapter III, Article 20 of the Constitution, which ensures honest therapy in judicial and administrative proceedings.
Smith maintained that his dismissal was orchestrated based mostly on manipulated proof.
He claimed that LISGIS account statements had been tampered with by people, together with Stanton Witherspoon, Martin Okay.N. Kollie, and Alex Williams, in an try and incriminate him.
“The Constitution and the LISGIS Act provide tenure and autonomy to officials of LISGIS. My removal by the former president was not only a violation of my rights but also an abuse of power,” Smith asserted.
This ruling places the Boakai authorities beneath fast obligation to adjust to the courtroom’s orders.
In addition to reinstating Smith, the administration has been mandated by the courtroom to calculate and pay all withheld salaries, advantages, and allowances.
