Liberia: Court Summons Ex-VP Boakai over Land Deal
President Joseph Nyumah Boakai.
Civil Law Court 'A' in Monrovia issued a summons on April 14, ordering the political leader of the opposition Unity Party ( UP) to file a reply to a lawsuit demanding his (Boakai's) name as an alleged co-owner of twenty-one acres of land.
The court ordered Ambassador Boakai, the former Vice President of Liberia, to have his reply submitted by April 22, or else a default judgment would be rendered against him in a complaint filed by Arnold Kandakai, who currently resides in the US.
The controversial property is located in Caldwell Township, adjacent to the Taylor Major Compound.
In the petition for 'Removal of Cloud over Title Deed' Kandakai prayed the court to adjourn Ambassador Boakai liable, by removing the cloud from the twenty-one acres of land from the name Joe Young to Joseph Boakai, and thereafter from Joseph Boakai to Arnold Kandakai.
Kandakai's suit further claimed that in 1994 he (Kandakai) bought the land from one Joe Young, but with the help of Boakai, who, according to Kandakai, he rewarded with US$8,500 for the assistance in acquiring the said property.
Unfortunately, Kandakai claimed that before the probation of the deed to the land in 1995, he noticed that the title deed carries the name of Joseph Boakai, which makes Boakai a co-owner to his (Kandakai's) property.
The title deed now carries Joseph Boakai and the land owner Joe Young’s names, Kandakai claimed that it was prepared by a surveyor, whose identity he failed to disclose in the lawsuit.
He said he recognized Boakai's name on the title deed, instead of him alone, while probing the documents for the property.
Immediately, Kandakai claimed that after he recognized the misplacement of Joseph Boakai's name,in December 2022, he contacted him (Boakai) on the matter, and Boakai assured him (Kandakai) that it was an error and was going to rectify it.
But, since then, Boakai has allegedly refused to transfer the title deed from his (Boakai's) name to him (Kandakai).
He also claimed that Boakai has sold portions of the property on which individuals have erected dwelling structures.