MC Anthony Omenichekwa Samuel Freeman Applicants v Attorney General Respondent [ECSC]
| Jurisdiction | St Lucia |
| Judge | EDWARDS; J. |
| Judgment Date | 22 May 2007 |
| Judgment citation (vLex) | [2007] ECSC J0522-4 |
| Year | 2007 |
| Date | 22 May 2007 |
| Court | High Court (Saint Lucia) |
| Docket Number | CLAIM NO. SLUHCV 2006/0895 |
IN THE EASTERN CARIBBEAN SUPREME COURT
IN THE HIGH COURT OF JUSTICE
CLAIM NO. SLUHCV 2006/0895
Mr. G. Williams for Applicants
Mrs. G. Taylor Alexander and
Ms. B. Portland for Respondent
This is a decision on the return to the 2 Writs of Habeas Corpus ad subjuciendum, issued on the 11th December 2006 by this Court, and the subsequent proceedings.
The 2 Writs were issued upon the Application of 2 prohibited immigrants Mr. Mc Anthony Omenichekwa and Mr. Samuel Freeman, filed on the 17th November 2006, pursuant to Article 856 of the Civil Code of St. Lucia Cap. 242, and PART 57 of the CPR 2000.
Both Applicants claim that they are Liberian nationals. They have no identification papers or Passports. They are in custody at the Bordelais Correctional Facility, awaiting their removal from St. Lucia. The difficulties the Immigration Authorities are encountering in confirming their nationality and pinpointing a country willing to receive them, raises the probability that they may be 'stateless'.
They contend in their Application, that the protracted period of time which has passed since they were deemed prohibited immigrants, pursuant to Section 23 of the Revised Laws of St. Lucia 1957 (the Act), and the failure of the Chief Immigration Officer to cause their removal from St. Lucia pursuant to the Order of the District Magistrate made on the 16th September 2006, constitute an unlawful detention and an abuse of process.
At the hearing on the 21st February and 12th March 2007, the head of the Immigration Department, Inspector of Police Mr. Moses James was cross examined on his Affidavit filed on the 6th December 2006. The 2 Applicants were also cross-examined on their Affidavit.
Learned Counsel Mr. Williams has identified the issue to be:Whether it is reasonable to detain the Applicants for the period which they have been detained in order to effect their removal from St. Lucia?
It is necessary to state the facts relevant to resolving the issue before considering the law and submissions of Counsel. In doing so, the biographical summary for each Applicant will be related.
Mr. Omenichekwa testified that he was born on the 16th June 1974 in Liberia, son of Paulinus and Rosemary Francis Omenichekwa.
He left No. 34 Umuatako, Monrovia where he last lived in Liberia in 1997, because he feared for his life, as his father was against the Government of Liberia.
In the absence of any evidence regarding the existing political conditions in Liberia in 1997 and thereafter, the Court has taken judicial notice of the prolonged political turmoil in Liberia since 1989. The state of affairs in Liberia has been well documented in Immigration Cases before the United Kingdom Asylum and Immigration Tribunal: SeeT vs Secretary of State for the Home Department (Liberia) [2003] UKAIT 00164, 8/12/03; Appellant v Secretary of State for the Home Department AS (Rule 30.1: when reply required) Liberia [2005] UKAIT 0015, 27/10/05; LB vs Secretary of State for the Home Department (Article 3, Monrovia, Security) Liberia CG, [2004] UKAIT 00299, 28/4/04.
The CaseMinin vs Commission (Common Foreign & Security Policy) T-362/04 [2007] EUECJ T-362/04, and Government Paper —History of Liberia: A Time Line (1815 to 1997 (http://memory.loc.gov/ammem/gmhtml/liberia.html) also provide relevant information.
In 1980, the peace and tranquility that Liberians had hither to enjoyed, came to an end. There was then a military coup led by Samuel K. Doe, which overthrew theGovernment, and assassinated the duly elected President Tolbert. On the establishment of a new Constitution in 1986, Samuel K. Doe retained power as head of State. He too suffered a similar fate as President Tolbert. In 1989 he was toppled by Charles Taylor, resulting in a civil war, when various ethnic factions fought for control of the nation. In 1990 rebel forces executed Samuel K. Doe.
The Secretary Council of the United Nations has passed numerous Resolutions since 1992, in response to the serious threats to peace in Liberia. In 1995 a peace treaty was brokered between the warring factions by the 16 member Economic Community of West Africa States. In 1996 the peace accord granted a general amnesty to faction fighters for abuses committed in the course of"military engagements." Following peace negotiations, Charles Taylor was elected President.
For the next 6 years former faction fighters, particularly Charles Taylor's faction the NPFL, continued to act with impunity, and remained a serious impediment to continued peace. Crippling poverty, multiple displacements, and continuous war has decimated Liberia's infrastructure. The civilian population in many villages have been 'wiped out'. Villages have been destroyed a significant portion of the population in Liberia have fled to neighbouring African countries and elsewhere, as refugees.
Although Charles Taylor was ousted from power in August 2003, Liberia continues to be the subject of Security Council Resolutions, for securing peace and security in Liberia and in the region.
Mr. Omenichekwa said that when he fled from Monrovia in 1997 as a refugee, he traveled by road to Mali where he spent 8 months. He next moved from Mali by road to Ethiopia, and from there to Johannesburg, South Africa in 1999.
He spent 9 months in South Africa, where he worked at Sunville Guest House and Restaurant with a family. He worked there for one Peter whose surname he does not remember. He testified that he lived with one Charles as a squatter whilst in South Africa. His Employer assisted him in obtaining a South African Passport as a refugee, he said, and thereafter, he traveled to Zurich in Switzerland.
From Zurich he traveled to Amsterdam and from there he went to Quito in Ecuador because that was where most Liberian refugees were heading at the time he said.
He has a Liberian cousin in Quito named Omushola Johnny Yorke who is legally resident there.
Mr. Omenichekwa married an Ecuadorian lady, and they had a baby daughter during the 3 years he lived in Ecuador, named Mitchell Chidirna. He left Ecuador when his daughter was 3 years old apparently. His wife Valencia Bahola was then working at a Restaurant in Quito, and living at 18 Avenida, Caro Pago, Quito, Ecuador.
He said that Omushola takes care of his daughter in his absence, and he gave the Police Omushola's telephone number 01159394 096491, which is also his wife's number.
He testified that he left Ecuador in 2005 because he was not legally there. He said that though he cannot return to Ecuador since he was not legally there, he is willing to return there if the Ecuadorian Authorities will accept him. His father is now dead he said, and he does not know if his mother who was mentally ill is still alive. He has no known friends or relatives in Liberia.
He decided to come to St. Lucia because this was the only island he was hearing about, so he left Ecuador and went to Venezuela. From there he went to Trinidad,and in June 2005 he arrived in St. Lucia by plane from Trinidad. He traveled on his South African Passport all this time.
On arrival in St. Lucia he stayed at a Guest House, and then went to another Guest House in Grand Riviere.
In July 2005 he began living in a rented room at Morne Du Don and subsequently linked up with Mr. Freeman who had arrived in St. Lucia on an unnamed Cargo boat in May 2005.
Although Mr. Omenichekwa and Mr. Freeman resemble each other, they have each denied that they are related, or knew each other before arriving in St. Lucia.
Mr. Freeman testified that he grew up in Isika Village, Imo, Liberia, having been born in Liberia. In the notes he made in his own handwriting and gave to the Police, he gave his date of birth as 25th October 1972, and his place of birth as
"Libaria Moriovia".
In his handwritten notes he gave his address as"No. 34 Morovia Street Libaria School: Primary Isika Libaria" He gave his parents' names as "Deceased Anna Freeman (Mother) No. 4 Onyebis Street Libar Freeman — Chibueze Father"
He testified that his brother, Chiboyez Freeman, his father and his mother all died by the war. He said that he did have a Liberian Passport which his mother had gotten for him since he was 10 years old. He decided to leave Liberia because his parents and his brother were killed and he had nobody, not even friends left in Liberia to assist him.
It must be noted, that Mr. Freeman deposed to an Affidavit in Claim No. SLUHCV 2006/0417 on the 22nd May 2006 relating to other proceedings. In this Affidavit he stated that he was formerly of "47 Church Road, Murovia, Liberia."
Under cross-examination by the Learned Solicitor General Mrs. Taylor-Alexander, he was asked if"4 Onyebis Street" means anything to him. His answer was — "I remember my father was living there before he moved my mother."
Travelling with his Passport, he said he left Liberia on an unnamed ship which stopped at several places in Africa before he got to Ecuador. He was then 32 to 33 years old he stated.
On entering Quito, Ecuador, he spent 1 month in Hotel Esmerada. He also testified that he spent one week in a hotel and got broke. Thereafter he got assistance from a Spanish lady called Nancy. He could not say what street or number Nancy lived, and he explained that"frustration and things I going through feel like I going off my head".
He said he had no friends in Ecuador, and was never employed there. He subsequently left Ecuador traveling by road until he got to Venezuela. In the course of this journey, he said he lost his Passport at the border.
According to him the...
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