MONROVIA, LIBERIA – In a legal development for the Press Union of Liberia (PUL), the Civil Law Court of Montserrado County has dismissed a Petition for Declaratory Judgment filed by four of its members challenging the legitimacy of the union’s leadership. On March 5, 2025, Judge George Smith ruled that the court lacked jurisdiction to entertain the petition, thus reinforcing the legal standing of the current Interim Leadership Committee headed by Peter Quaqua.
The petitioners Mae Azango, Alloysius Makor, Charles Coffey, and Musa Kenneh had sought to invalidate the actions of the PUL’s Interim Leadership Committee, which had been tasked with organizing a rerun of the PUL’s 2022 election. This election, initially marred by constitutional violations, had been annulled by Judge J. Boima Kontoe of the Ninth Judicial Circuit Court, who ordered a rerun. However, the aggrieved members argued that the rerun was a new election, and they contended that they were unfairly excluded from participation. They also raised concerns about the downgrading of their membership status from Full Membership to Affiliate Membership, a move they claimed was unjust.
Despite these arguments, Judge Smith upheld the actions of the Interim Leadership Committee, affirming that the rerun was being conducted in line with the mandate set by the Ninth Judicial Circuit Court. The ruling effectively bolstered the legitimacy of the PUL’s current leadership, headed by Julius Kanubah, and represents a significant victory for the Interim Leadership Committee, which has faced ongoing legal challenges from the petitioners.
This ruling follows a motion to dismiss filed by the PUL Interim Leadership Committee’s legal team in October 2024. After extensive legal arguments in January 2025, the court dismissed the petition, citing lack of jurisdiction over the matter.
The four petitioners, represented by prominent lawyers including Cllr. P. Alphonsus Zeon, Samwar Fallah, and Alpha Daffae Senkpeni, have expressed their intention to appeal the decision to Liberia’s Supreme Court. This follows their previous unsuccessful attempt to prevent the rerun election from taking place. In that earlier legal battle, the petitioners sought a Writ of Prohibition from Justice in Chambers, Yarmin Quiqui Gbeissay, which was rejected, and their efforts to stop the induction of the democratically-elected leadership were also dismissed by Judge Golda A. Bonah Elliot.
The legal disputes stem from the contentious PUL 2022 election, in which Nyakonah, a candidate who was defeated, has been vocal in his criticism of the current PUL leadership. Nyakonah, who currently works in the Ministry of Finance and Development Planning’s communications department, has alleged that the leadership is illegitimate. However, these claims have been repeatedly dismissed by the courts, which continue to support the current PUL leadership’s legitimacy.
