George Weah Bows To Pressure, Replaces Controversial Justice Minister

Liberia’s new President, George Weah has bowed to intense
pressure and replaced his choice for justice minister after local
media reported lawyer Charles Gibson was stripped of his licence
for embezzling a client.

A statement withdrawing the nomination “with immediate effect”
was issued late Wednesday following the first serious hiccup for
the ex-football star since being sworn in for a six-year term on
January 22.

Gibson, a high-profile legal figure, was once suspended by the
Supreme Court for duping a client out of $25,000, and was ordered
to repay the costs.

He will be replaced by Musa Dean, previously a lawyer with the
National Elections Commission (NEC), who battled Weah’s political
opponents in the Supreme Court as they tried to delay the
presidential vote that the sportsman won in a landslide.

The new nomination must be approved by the senate.

Weah has given posts to a mixture of inexperienced but loyal
figures from his Congress for Democratic Change (CDC) party, along
with some key members held over from the former government.

The former AC Milan and Paris St Germain star has slashed the
price of rice and taken a personal pay cut of 25 percent since his
inauguration, after campaigning on a platform to raise living
standards and tackle corruption.

AFP

Liberia’s new President, George Weah has bowed to intense
pressure and replaced his choice for justice minister after local
media reported lawyer Charles Gibson was stripped of his licence
for embezzling a client.

A statement withdrawing the nomination “with immediate effect”
was issued late Wednesday following the first serious hiccup for
the ex-football star since being sworn in for a six-year term on
January 22.

Gibson, a high-profile legal figure, was once suspended by the
Supreme Court for duping a client out of $25,000, and was ordered
to repay the costs.

He will be replaced by Musa Dean, previously a lawyer with the
National Elections Commission (NEC), who battled Weah’s political
opponents in the Supreme Court as they tried to delay the
presidential vote that the sportsman won in a landslide.

The new nomination must be approved by the senate.

Weah has given posts to a mixture of inexperienced but loyal
figures from his Congress for Democratic Change (CDC) party, along
with some key members held over from the former government.

The former AC Milan and Paris St Germain star has slashed the
price of rice and taken a personal pay cut of 25 percent since his
inauguration, after campaigning on a platform to raise living
standards and tackle corruption.

AFP