MONROVIA, LIBERIA – The Supreme Court of Liberia on Thursday, May 28, 2025, dealt a significant blow to the opposition Congress for Democratic Change (CDC), dismissing its Bill of Information and ordering the party to vacate its headquarters in Congo Town, Monrovia. In the ruling that reaffirms judicial authority over land disputes, the High Court not only upheld its 2016 ejectment decision but also sanctioned CDC’s lawyers for what it described as a legally baseless and impermissible challenge.
The CDC, through its Acting Chairman Attorney Janga Kowo, filed the Bill of Information in a last-ditch attempt to prevent eviction from the premises. The party argued that it had not been properly notified of earlier judgments and that a competing claim by the intestate estate of Danielle P. Tucker Bernard warranted a delay in enforcement. However, the Supreme Court ruled that none of these arguments met the legal threshold for such a filing.
Delivering the opinion of the Court, Associate Justice Jamesetta Howard Wolokolie noted that CDC’s payment of US$360,000 in rental arrears to the Stubblefield Bernard Estate between 2018 and 2023 amounted to an implicit recognition of a landlord-tenant relationship. “By paying rent to remain on the premises, the CDC affirmed the ownership rights of the landlord and cannot now challenge those rights,” the Court stated.
The justices further declared that the Bill of Information failed to allege any interference with a prior judgment by a judge or judicial officer, one of the essential legal criteria for such a filing. In the absence of such claims, the petition was deemed procedurally flawed and legally untenable.
In a strong rebuke of the legal team representing the CDC, the Supreme Court fined Counsellors A. Ndubusi Nwabudike, Thomson M. Jargba, and James N. Kumeh US$500 each. The Court ordered the fines be paid into government revenue within 72 hours of the judgment, signaling its intolerance for frivolous filings intended to obstruct justice.
The dispute centers on a 4.23-acre property in Congo Town, long used as the national headquarters of the CDC. The Intestate Estate of Martha Stubblefield Bernard, represented by Administrator Ebrima Varney Dempster, originally brought an action of ejectment against CDC and the Intestate Estate of William Thomas Bernard in 2016. The Supreme Court ruled in the estate’s favor that same year, ordering the CDC’s eviction.
However, the implementation of that ruling was delayed after the estate’s legal counsel, Cllr. Frank Musah Dean Jr., was appointed Minister of Justice. With new legal representation from J. Johnny Momoh & Associates in 2024, the estate resumed its efforts to enforce the judgment, prompting the CDC to file the recently dismissed Bill of Information.
Court documents reveal that the CDC had initially attempted to purchase the portion of land it occupies, but stalled negotiations by citing a third-party claim from the estate of Danielle P. Tucker Bernard. In response, the Stubblefield Estate demanded full rental payment and settlement of court costs as preconditions for any continued occupation, terms the CDC accepted, further reinforcing the landlord-tenant relationship.
In the view of the Court, CDC’s acknowledgment of the estate’s ownership by making rental payments negated its argument that it was blindsided by the original judgment. “A tenant cannot challenge the title of its landlord,” the Court emphasized, reiterating longstanding legal doctrine.
The justices also criticized the CDC for what they viewed as a strategy to delay the execution of justice. “The use of procedural tactics to hinder the enforcement of a Supreme Court Mandate is not only improper but undermines the integrity of the judicial process,” the ruling stated.
With this decision, the CDC is now legally obligated to vacate the property, and the Stubblefield Bernard Estate is cleared to take possession. The ruling effectively ends nearly a decade of litigation over the contested property and marks a turning point in the legal accountability of political parties.
This development raises immediate questions about where the CDC will now relocate its national headquarters. As one of Liberia’s most prominent political parties, the forced eviction may carry symbolic implications ahead of future elections and intensify internal party pressure on its leadership.
Political analysts say the ruling also underscores the evolving posture of the Supreme Court under Chief Justice Sie-A-Nyene G. Yuoh, whose tenure has been marked by a firm insistence on legal propriety and respect for judicial authority.
The decision was concurred by Chief Justice Yuoh and Associate Justices Yamie Quiqui Gbeisay Sr., Yussif D. Kaba, and Ceaineh D. Clinton Johnson. Their collective judgment reinforces a legal precedent that may deter other political entities or private actors from engaging in similar tactics to avoid lawful eviction.
