An investigation by Verity News has exposed a scheme by three (3) Court Administrators not to retire even though they have surpassed the legal age of retirement which is 65 years of age according to the Civil Service Agency (CSA) and age 60 to be pensioned according to the National Social Security and Welfare Corporation (NASSCORP).
With verifiable documents in our possession, Verity News has uncovered that Court Administrator Elizabeth J. Nelson, born July 6, 1950 (74 years), John B. Sarkorh, born February 8, 1950 (74 years), and Court Marshall Amos B. K. Dickson, born December 11, 1954 (70 years) have since ‘refused’ to retire which is in gross violation of the February 13, 2017 Pension Law of Liberia.
An official document on the website of the Civil Service Agency states, “As per the new Pension Laws of Liberia that came into effect on February 13, 2017, qualification for retirement or pension is based on age 60 and health.”
According to birth data in our possession, both Cllr. Elizabeth Nelson and Mr. John Sarkorh should have retired 9 years ago specifically in 2015 while Brig. Gen. Amos Dickson should have retired 5 years ago in 2019 considering a 65-year-old threshold for retirement.
The findings of Verity News have further exposed how some senior members of the Judiciary have been in blatant violation of the law even though they are supposed to interpret the very law. This confirm several claims made by political pundits and international partners, including the U.S.
Government, that the Judiciary in Liberia is allegedly corrupt. It can be recalled that successive annual State Department’s reports have tagged judicial officials as being subservient to bribes.
The 2023 U.S. Department of State’s report said, “Judges reportedly solicited bribes to try cases, grant bail to detainees, award damages in civil cases, or acquit defendants in criminal cases. Defense attorneys and prosecutors reportedly directed defendants to pay bribes to secure favorable decisions from judges, prosecutors, and jurors or to have court staff place cases on the docket for trial. Some judicial officials and prosecutors appeared subject to pressure, and the outcome of some trials appeared to be predetermined, especially when the accused persons were politically connected or socially prominent.”
Recently, another investigation of Verity News uncovered how Chief Justice Sie-A-Nyene G. Yuoh illegally placed her biological daughter, Ms. Elsie M. Nyeplu-Willie, on the payroll of the Supreme Court as a special assistant.
Ms. Nyeplu-Willie who’s at #4 on the official Supreme Court Payroll captioned, “Salary Payroll For The Month Of June 2024 – Office Of The Chief Justice,” is earning a monthly gross salary of US$2,500 as a special assistant while her mother, Chief Justice Yuoh, is earning US$20,000 excluding other benefits as reflected on the payroll.
Another investigation by Verity News also revealed that Chief Justice Yuoh and Special Assistant Elsie M. Nyeplu were paid a total of US$25,472 as foreign travel daily subsistence and incidental allowance to facilitate a 16-day foreign medical check-up in Turkey.
The office of the Comptroller of the Judiciary disbursed US$20,992 to Chief Justice Yuoh (Check #412488) and US$4,480 to Special Assistant Elsie Nyeplu (Check #412485). It was also revealed that US$8,082 was spent only on air tickets for this single trip.
The findings of our investigation have been confirmed by a recent audit report conducted by the General Auditing Commission (Ref: Page 49, Irregularities associated with foreign travel, July 2024 Special Audit of the Judiciary).
With the latest discovery of some senior staff who are far above the retirement age but are yet to retire, this calls into question the integrity and reputation of the Judiciary.
