Ex-AFL Soldiers Speak: Our Rights or No Peaceful X-mas

[Kirkpatrick Weah]

 

A specter is haunting Liberia. This is how it started with AFL during Tolbert's days. He did not listen to our suffering brothers, sisters mothers and fathers in the AFL. President Sirleaf  government is not listening as well.

 

When the ex-soldiers take action our country will go years back again. These are the same people that Ellen, Taylor and the rest used for their quest for power and wealth. What goes around comes around. It is time for President Sirleaf 's praise worshipers to stop dancing, singing and really tell her the hard truth.

 

One thing that is certain is that the gravy seekers in her government will say that she did not listen. They talked and talked but Ellen could not listen. So, it is time for Ellen and her children, relatives, etc to pay attention to the ex-soldiers. Our country is sitting on a time bomb.

 

Kirkpatrick Weah

MOLAC

763-355-5600

 

 

 

Liberia: As Ex-AFL Soldiers Vow to Turn December 'Upside Down' - X-Mas Celebrations Threatened

By Caesar N. Slapeh, 19 November 2013

  

About 200 retired soldiers of the Armed Forces of Liberia (AFL) have vowed to turn December 'upside down', suggesting that they will threaten this year's Christmas Celebration in protest of what they called the unconstitutional disbandment of the AFL by the Government of Liberia (GoL).

 

Christmas is an annual commemoration of the birth of Jesus Christ and a widely observed holiday, celebrated generally on December 25 by millions of people. The celebration of Christmas in Liberia is widely occasioned by merrymaking.

The retired AFL soldiers issued the threat through their Secretary General, Jerry Kollie, on Monday, November 18, 2013 after they lost a legal battle at the Civil Law Court. The Civil Law Court, which is situated at the Temple of Justice on Capitol Hill, is presided over by Judge A. Boima Kontoe.

Kollie described the ruling by the civil law court as unjust, insisting that they will demand what he called fair justice.

According to him, the government disbanded the AFL unconstitutionally and therefore the right thing must be done. It could be recalled that sometimes ago, the ex-soldiers of the AFL filed by and thru their National Chairman, retired Ltc. Richard Boye, filed a Petition for Declaratory Judgment against the Government of the Republic of Liberia, by and thru the Ministry of Justice and the Ministry of National Defense, praying the court to declare their rights under a proposed legislation entitled "An Act to amend Title 23 Section 222 of the National Defense Law on pensions for the procedures for the retirement of members of the Armed Forces of Liberia (AFL). The Movant, the Government of Liberia (GoL), filed their returns to petition along with a ten-count motion to dismiss the petition. The motion to dismiss raised the issue of Jurisdiction alleging that the court does not have jurisdiction of the thing involved in action.

According to the court's ruling, the thing involved in the action is a purported amendment of Title 23 Chapter 10 section 222 of the National Defense Law was proposed and drafted in 1994, it was never approved by the president and was not printed into hand bills by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs so as to give it full weight of a legislation as required by law.

The court said the motion also raised the issue of co-petitioners, Deceased AFL Widows to bring the action for and behalf of their late husbands.

But the Movants argued that the said widows lack the capacity to sue for and on behalf of their late husbands' estates because they were never issued letters of administration to administer their late husbands' intestate estates as required by law. The Motion also raised the issue of the capacity of the group, represented by and thru their so called National Chairman retired Ltc. Richard B. Boye, to bring this action for and on behalf of the Petitioners in that there is no showing that the group was incorporated under the Associations Laws of Liberia as an association and he was elected chairman/president of the group. There is also no showing that the group ever had an election and elected him as their legal representative. The Respondents, in resisting the motion, filed a ten- count resistance basically contending that Title 23 section 222 of National Defense Act was amended by the Interim Legislative Assembly of the Republic of Liberia that was serving in dual capacity as House of Representatives and Senate and was approved by the Head of State of the Interim Government on 17th day of February A.D. 1994; that the said Act was approved and published in Hand Bill; that their action/petition is a class action under section 5.91 sub-chapter G of the Civil Procedure law; co-petitioners, deceased AFL widows have capacity to bring this action as co-petitioners in that they have in possession letters of administration as Administratrixes of the intestate estate of their deceased husbands. The court pointed out that the instrument presented by the Respondents/Petitioners as the purported act was never printed into hand bill by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs.

The court explained that a piece of legislation can only become law when it is published into hand bill. It noted that the instrument makes no reference to the Armed Forces of Liberia but rather to the Civil Service Agency.

The court stated that it cannot declare rights of the Petitioners/Respondent relying on a piece of legislation that does not exist. Against this backdrop, the court granted the motion for dismissal. This is second time that the Petitioners' petition is being dismissed by this court. This dismissal is not on account of the petitioners but on the account of their lawyer's failure to appropriately represent their clients.