IPNEWS: On the occasion of the celebrations of World Press Freedom Day on May 3, 2024, the National Campaign Management Team of Julius Kanubah and Beatrice Sieh for the leadership of the Press Union of Liberia (PUL) has identified unethical leadership as the major security threat confronting the PUL.
Team Kanubah – Sieh believes the institutional security of the PUL in terms of leadership stability and legitimacy as much as the protection of the rights of journalists, freedom of expression and the media has been extremely weakened by the lack of disciplined, ethical, and caring leaders in the last eight years.
As World Press Freedom Day is being celebrated globally, Team Kanubah–Sieh therefore reminds journalists, media, and communication practitioners of their duty to advance and exercise ethical and caring leadership, especially by respecting and upholding journalistic media ethics and the rule of law.
This year’s celebrations of World Press Freedom Day on May 3 on the theme, “A Press for the Planet: Journalism in the Face of Environmental Crisis,” is again an opportunity for us as journalists, media, and communication practitioners together with the wider Liberian society to reflect on our collective responsibility to promote ethical practices for the security of our environment.
Team Kanubah–Sieh reiterates that the Press Union of Liberia currently lacks legitimate leadership because of an ongoing Court case bordering on acts of Membership Registration Fraud, Violation of the Union’s Constitution, and the Expiry of Tenure of the former leadership.
The Court case is not a trivial matter as the Supreme Court on December 19, 2023 weighed in on the case, affirming that the PUL held elections “under protest” and therefore, cannot proceed with a so-called induction until legal determination is made into the Petition for Declaratory Judgment filed in November 2022 by the National Campaign Management Team of Julius Kanubah.
Judge J. Boima Kontoe of the 9th Judicial Circuit Court, sitting in Gbarnga, Bong County has since resumed jurisdiction over the case and proceeding in keeping with law in accordance with the Supreme Court’s Mandate, which recognized and reinforced the Judge’s December 15, 2022 Stay Order on all proceedings/activities of the PUL under the former leadership along with relevant Committees.
Team Kanubah–Sieh says, while legal processes into the Case are advancing, it is completely unethical and a show of disregard for the rule of law the acts of Akoi Baysah, PUL former Assistant Secretary General, to bestow upon himself the titles of Acting President and Acting Secretary General.
Akoi Baysah as one of the individuals undergoing trial for acts of fraud and constitutional violations, does not have the authority and legitimacy to exercise any function in the name of the PUL as doing so is not only illegal but an act of impersonation and disrespect to both the Supreme Court and the Lower Court.
Team Kanubah–Sieh reminds Akoi Baysah that as the legal efforts against fraud in the PUL continue, it will not hesitate to take the necessary steps to bring him under the ambit of the rule of law since he believes there is no stay order that restrains him from acting in the name of the PUL.
Again, in the spirit of World Press Freedom Day, Team Kanubah–Sieh congratulates journalists, media, and communication practitioners for their hard work and the struggle for a legitimate leadership at the PUL, which Team Kanubah–Sieh is determined to ensure in the interest of the Media Community in Liberia.
