By Precious D. Freeman
The Supreme Court has delivered a decisive opinion in the long-standing legal tussle involving the Congress for Democratic Change (CDC) over its headquarters, firmly denying a bill of information filed by the party and affirming that it holds no ownership rights over the disputed property.
The case, centered around an Action of Ejectment between the Intestate Estate of William Thomas Bernard and the CDC, was brought before the nation’s highest court following CDC’s attempt to challenge its status as a tenant.
Represented by its Acting Chairman, Nathaniel McGill, the CDC sought to intervene in ongoing appeal proceedings between the Bernard Estate and other parties, claiming interest in the property currently housing the party’s headquarters.
However, the Supreme Court found no legal merit in the CDC’s claim, ruling that the party’s own payment of US$360,000 in rental arrears for the years 2018 to 2023 constituted an “implied enforcement” of a prior 2016 Supreme Court judgment that confirmed the Bernard Estate’s ownership of the property.
“The 1st respondent’s acceptance of Three Hundred & Sixty Thousand United States Dollars as rental arrears… established a landlord-tenant relationship,” the Court stated in its ruling.
The Court further ruled that CDC, having recognized its position as a tenant through these payments, could not now turn around to question the title of its landlord the Bernard Estate.
Calling the CDC’s bill of information “preposterous and impermissible,” the Court clarified that the procedure was misused, as no judicial interference had been alleged nor any justification provided under the rules governing such filings.
As a consequence, the Supreme Court dismissed and denied the bill of information and imposed a US$500 fine on CDC’s legal counsel Counsellors A. Ndubuisi Nwabudike, Thompson M. Jargba, and James N. Kumeh to be paid into government revenue within 72 hours.
“Costs are ruled against the informants,” the judgment added, signaling a stern message on procedural propriety and abuse of judicial processes.
Legal representatives for the respondent, including Counsellors J. Johnny Momoh, Joseph N. Tegli, and F. Juah Lawson of the Renaissance Law Group, welcomed the Court’s decision, which now reinforces the Bernard Estate’s property rights and potentially clears the way for further action on the long-disputed site.
The Clerk of the Supreme Court has been instructed to notify all parties of the Court’s mandate as the matter concludes another chapter in what has been a high-profile and politically charged land dispute in the heart of Monrovia.
