Justice Kaba Fined LCAA US$500 for Unprofessional Conduct

Associate Justice Yussif Kaba.

Associate Justice Yussif Kaba has imposed a US$500 fine against the management of the Liberia Civil Aviation Authority (LCAA), for its “deliberate refusal” to grant a landing permit to a helicopter belonging to Dr. Daniel Cassell of the People’s Liberation Party.

The fine against LCAA comes after management had refused to adhere to a mandate from Justice Kaba to allow Cassell and his helicopter crew to land in the country, pending the outcome of a petition for prohibition. The presiding Chamber Justice mandated the LCAA to pay the US$500 within 72 hours in the account of the Judiciary, with receipt to authenticate that they were in compliance with his order.

However, Justice Kaba had declined to issue a petition for a Writ of Prohibition prayed for by the Kwenyan & Associates Group of Companies thru its board member, Tapple Doe (petitioner), against the LCAA.

Justice Kaba's decision was made during a closed-door conference he held with both lawyers representing the petitioner and the respondent.

Rejecting the petition, Justice Kaba informed the petitioner to exhaust every other administrative and legal means, by first engaging the Civil Aviation Regulations and any of the Circuit Courts, particularly the Civil Law Court, in the country, before applying for the writ, which the petitioner failed to do.

The petition argues that on May 3, 2021, it purchased a Bell 430 Helicopter with serial number 49075 with current registration number ZT-RJA, from the National Airways Corporation (Pty) Ltd of South Africa. The petition further argued that in accordance with the Civil Aviation Regulations of the Republic of Liberia, it informed the respondent that it had purchased the said aircraft and was requesting the issuance of an Air Service License to enable it to fly the helicopter to Liberia.

“In response to the letter of July 5, 2021, the respondent replied on July 7, 2021, issuing a flight clearance form on October 5, 2021, to fly the said helicopter into Liberia,” the petition said.

According to the petition, the respondent, without notice to the petitioner, cancelled the landing permission on October 13, 2021, just when the helicopter was in Liberian airspace, thereby prompting the said helicopter to revert to Ivory Coast.

“The void order and lack of notification and the reason for such void notice, which prevented the said helicopter from landing in Liberia, violated its due process right under the Constitution of Liberia,” the petition argued.

Meanwhile, the Ministry of Information, Culture Affairs, and Tourism, through its deputy Minister for Press and Public Affairs, Jarlawah A. Tonpo, had clarified that the LCAA never denied Kwenyan & Associates Group of Companies a landing permit.

“The Government of Liberia through the Liberia Civil Aviation Authority (LCAA) wishes to state categorically that at no time did it deny Kwenyan & Associates Group of Companies landing permit as the LCAA did not receive a request from nor issue them any such landing permit in keeping with its procedures,” the press release said.

The statement added that the Kwenyan & Associates Group of Companies never filed a request for a landing permit to the LCAA, however, their application for an Air Service License is still being reviewed in keeping with local and relevant international regulations.

“The LCAA iterates that it remains a professional regulatory agency whose mission is to ensure the enforcement of all national and international civil aviation laws, procedures, and regulations,” the statement noted.