The Deputy Chief of Mission at the US Embassy has disclosed that he is worried about the breakdown of rule of law in Liberia and its implication for the country’s future.
Remarking on the dismissed case against the chairperson of the National Elections Commission, Joel Maybury noted that when impunity creeps in, people get away with things. As such, he said, the rule of law is fundamental and it is good to respect it, regardless of one’s position.
Amb. Maybury said he is worried about any country, including Liberia, when rule of law breaks down.
“If you don’t have a rule of law you get a breakdown of everything. When the rule of law breaks down, everybody defines things on the basis of what is right or bad for them. I worry about any country where people no longer respect rule of law, regardless of your position. Anybody can get away with anything. That’s not good,” Maybury told the Daily Observer via a telephone interview last week, following the Court’s dismissal of the case as a result of procedural errors by the Liberia Anti-Corruption Commission (LACC).
While Maybury said he was not questioning the merit of the decision from the Court, he was firm in his words saying further “That’s when impunity creeps in and people get away with things. The rule of law is fundamental and it is good to respect it, regardless of your position.”
The 2021 U.S. Department of State Human Rights Report was damning for Liberia, highlighting scores of issues, including suppression of the press and freedom of speech, and arbitrary punishments of critical voices, among others.
