The campaign committee of Julius Kullie Kanubah, the defeated presidential candidate in the just ended Press Union of Liberia (PUL)’s election has filed a petition to the Supreme Court, for a Writ of Prohibition, against the outgoing leadership of the union, headed by Charles Coffey, as president, and co-respondents to refrain from further perusing a civil procedure law of Liberia.
Other respondents are the resident Judge of the Ninth Judicial Circuit Court in Bong County, His Honor, H. Boima Kontoe, the Chair of the PUL Congress Committee, Caroline Myers-Zodua, and the heads and members of the membership committee, Fabine Kwiah, Eddie Harmon, as well as the chairperson and members of the congress sub-committee on elections and inauguration, Atty. Ade Wede Kekuleh, Atty. Al-Varney Rogers, Cllr. Bobby Livingston, and the union’s outgoing secretary and Assistant Secretary, Musa Kanneh and Akoi Baysah, respectively.
The petitioners pray the High Court to reverse and set aside Judge Kontoe’s order vacating the stay order restraining the leadership of the PUL and the election commissioners from holding any election without a hearing of the petition for preliminary injunction, thereby undoing and canceling the results of the election held in Gbarnga, on Saturday, November 19.
The Kanubah’s campaign team also pray the high court to order the reinstatement of the temporary order growing out of its previous petition and assign same for hearing and determination thereof.
“Grant unto petitioners such other relief as your honor may deem just and equitable,” the petition further stated.
On November 18, 2022 the team in its petition to the Ninth Judicial Circuit Court in Gbarnga County prayed for declaratory judgement along with a motion for preliminary injunction to prohibit, restrain and enjoin the election commissioners from conducting and participating in any election on behalf of the Press Union of Liberia, until the final determination of the matter at bar, and to further order the respondents to turn over power after the expiration of their administration to a neutral body to take the union to election, within two weeks.
They claim however that Judge Kontoe to their dismay vacated their injunction without a notice to them and without having a hearing of the motion for preliminary injunction and has failed and refused to serve the petitioners copies of the respondents returns to their petition for declaratory judgement, along with their motion to vacate the injunction.
The petitioners also claimed that the action of the Circuit Court Judge violates their constitutional rights as provided for under article 11(c), which provides that “All persons are equal before the law and are therefore entitled to the equal protection of the law.”