The Supreme Court of Liberia has cancelled its earlier judgment ordering activist Martin K. N. Kollie and Alex Williams to pay US$50,000 each in damages to Wilmot Smith, a former Deputy Director General for Information Coordination at the Liberia Institute of Statistics and Geo-Information Services (LISGIS), saying the decision resulted from an inadvertent error by the full bench.
Chief Justice Yamie Quiqui Gbeisay, Sr. said the two men were brought under the jurisdiction of the lower court from which the appeal originated and should therefore have been allowed to appear and defend them before that court.
The Chief Justice ordered the lower court to resume jurisdiction of the case and allow Kollie and Williams to participate in the proceedings in keeping with due process.
“The judgment mandating Mr. Kollie and Williams to pay US$50,000 each to appellant Wilmot Smith … was an inadvertent error on the part of the full bench of the Honorable Supreme Court of Liberia,” the Supreme Court stated.
The court’s decision effectively removes the US$50,000 damages award against Kollie and Williams and sends the matter back to the lower court for further proceedings.
Kollie welcomed the reversal, saying the Supreme Court had recognized his right, and that of Williams, to defend themselves before the lower court.
“The Supreme Court of Liberia just withdrew its final judgment of US$50,000 in ‘Damages’ against me on grounds that separate trials were granted in favor of me and comrade Alex Williams,” Kollie said in a statement.
He added that the case had been remanded to the lower court “to enable us the opportunity to defend ourselves through our legal team(s), while the damage award against EcoBank is maintained.”
Kollie described the ruling as a victory and credited God for the outcome.
“God is the GREATEST, and NO man. In God, our faith lies and our steps and thoughts are GUIDED,” he wrote.
The activist also criticized those who reported the previous judgment requiring him to pay US$50,000 in damages, challenging them to give similar attention to the Supreme Court’s latest decision.
“We hope that all those who were running around yesterday, about me paying US$50K in ‘damages’ to Wilmot Smith … will also report this latest development,” Kollie said.
He maintained that his campaign against illegal drugs and alleged corruption in Liberia would continue despite the legal proceedings.
“Nobody can distract this national cause to DISMANTLE the Drug Cartel,” he said, calling for accountability from everyone connected to the country’s drug crisis.
“We are fighting for hundreds of thousands of Liberian families, including grieving parents, who have lost their children to DRUGS and graveyards across Liberia,” Kollie said.
The case will now return to the lower court, where Kollie and Williams are expected to have the opportunity to present their defense.
The Supreme Court’s damages award against EcoBank remains in effect.
