“This Court says if NEC were to proceed to certificate Mr. J. Brownie Samukai, Jr. as Senator-elect of Lofa County, he would be seated as a Senator who was convicted by the court and which conviction has imposed on him a disability that can be removed by serving the sentence and fully satisfying the penalty. Justice Nagbe stated that contrary to the Samukai’s argument, at no time did the Supreme Court order the National Elections Commission (NEC) to certificate Mr. Samukai, rather the initial instruction was for the NEC to announce the final result from the election. Justice Nagbe further detailed that the certification is being put on hold because Samukai is now a convict and there is a law prohibiting convicts from serving public office. The ruling: “The law extant requires that any official of government, whether the Legislature, Executive or Judiciary, must take oath before taking upon the duties of the office to which he/she is being elected or appointed. SO HELP ME GOD.”“This Court says if NEC were to proceed to certificate Mr. J. Brownie Samukai, Jr. as Senator-elect of Lofa County, he would be seated as a Senator who was convicted by the court and which conviction has imposed on him a disability that can be removed by serving the sentence and fully satisfying the penalty.

Source: Front Page Africa May 05, 2021 06:56 UTC