Liberia: Supreme Court Subjects Lawyer to Probe

The Supreme Court has asked its Grievance and Ethics Committee to investigate Atty. Bob Laywehyee for allegedly falsifying the deed of a  1.5 lots of land.

Laywehyee, according to the Court, is being accused of illegally selling the 1.5 lots, which belongs to one Rosemarie Williams, after he had falsified the deed.

The property at the center of the investigation is situated between the GSA Road and Zubah town intersection in Paynesville City.  

Chief Justice Sie-A-Nyene Yuoh, who ordered the investigation, had informed the ethics committee that the allegation against Laywehyee, who is one of the lawyers at the NASH Legal Services law firm, is grave and warrants attention so as to protect the sanctity of the legal profession.

Laywehyee  is however expected to appear very soon before the ethics committee to defend himself even though a date for his appearance has not yet been fixed by the committee.

Williams’ Attorney-In-Fact, Edward Lamin, in a complaint, claimed that Laywehyee’s action led to his client, who is based in the USA, losing everything that she had on the land. 

The property, Lamin said, was sold to one Jacob Knewolo, who is now constructing a story building on the land while the ownership is being contested at the Civil Law Court. 

The complaint alleges that Laywehyee backdated  the deed to 2004 and had it probated with the help of James Leemah.     

Lamin added that Williams bought the land in question in 2005 and built a four-bedroom structure  on it  but Laywehyee’s  action has left her with nothing.

“Everything was broken down to a ground level because of Laywehyee’s fake deed and subsequent sale,” the letter alleges.  “Rosemarie Williams had just commenced the construction of a three-storeroom building that was at a foundation level before Laywehyee  carried out his action.”

Meanwhile, Lamin, Williams’ Attorney-In-Fact, also claimed in his complaint that Laywehyee connived with a lady he left behind to take care of the property to falsify the land deed while he was out of the country.

Upon returning, Lamin noted that he had discovered that Williams’ property had new occupants and a fence had been erected around it. 

He said he then inquired about the whereabouts of the lady he left in charge but she was nowhere to be found. This, he said, prompted him to conduct an investigation which uncovered the fraudulent sale of the property by the lady and Laywehyee to Knewolo and Jerry McGill.

Lamin claimed that he became aware of the double sale after the Paynesville Magisterial Court issued a summary proceeding against all the illegal occupants of the premises including Knewolo and McGill, who were already in court over the property. 

He alleges that Laywehyee had been pleading on behalf of the illegal Knewolo until the magistrate had to transfer the case to the Civil Law Court. 

Lamin claims that Laywehyee’s actions have undermined his ability to take possession of the property and that he influenced and induced the caretaker on behalf of Knewolo, while hiding his involvement in the illegal purchase. 

“Laywehyee’s action continues to undermine and injure my ability to take possession of the property. He initially prevailed, influenced, and induced the caretaker on behalf of Knewolo, while sinisterly telling Knewolo not to identify himself as the person who had illegally purchased the property,” Lamin’s complaint said.