His Honor Boakai N. Kanneh
Associate Justice
Supreme Court of Liberia
PERSONAL PROFILE
Mr. Justice Boakai N. Kanneh, a native of Lofa now Gbarpolu County, Republic of Liberia, was born unto the union of Mr. James M. Kanneh and Madam Iye Kamara Kanneh.
He began his early educational sojourn at the united Brethren in Christ elementary school where he successfully attained his high school diploma in 1989. Young Boakai then matriculated at the University of Liberia and earned a Bachelor of Arts degree (BA) in Political Science and Economics, graduating cum laude, in the year 2000. During those days, as an undergraduate university student, young Boakai was active in students’ activities serving as Student Representative on the University Council, member of the Political Science Students and Kolahun District Student Associations as well as serving as Secretary General of the University of Liberia Muslim Students Association.
At his young and active age, Boakai Kanneh developed passion for the Law which drove him to enroll at the Louis Arthur Grimes School of Law, University of Liberia, in 1999; where he diligently pursued his study of law and again graduating cum laude with a Bachelor of Laws degree (LLB) in 2006. Following his graduation from the Louis Arthur Grimes School of Law, Boakai N. Kanneh was admitted into the practice of Law as an Attorney-at-Law in 2006.
With an unquenchable thirst for deeper knowledge of the law, Atty. Kanneh sought and attained enrollment at the Maurer School of Law, Indiana University-Bloomington, Indiana, the USA in pursuit of his master’s degree in law. He successfully earned his LLM (T) in December 2009, with emphasis in Criminal Law, Criminal Procedure and Constitutional Law. Atty. Boakai N. Kanneh was called the Bar of the Supreme Court of Liberia as a Counsellor-at-Law in 2009.
Boakai N. Kanneh began his work experience as a Relief Monitor for the Special Emergency Life Food Program (SELF), in Monrovia, Liberia with responsibilities of collecting and processing data on humanitarian needs and supervising the distribution of relief supplies to community residents, from August 1991 to 1993.
His service to the government and people of Liberia began in 1996 when he served as Statistician/Office Manager to the Chief Medical Officer of the Republic of Liberia at the Ministry of Health and Social Welfare. A position he held until 2000 when he moved on to the Ministry of Foreign Affairs where he worked as Research Analyst, Bureau of International Cooperation from 2000 to April 2003.
From May – July, 2003, Boakai Kanneh had a short stint at the Ministry of Agriculture serving as Assistant Minister/Special Assistant to the Minister and was subsequently appointed Deputy Commissioner for Naturalization, Bureau of Immigration and Naturalization, Ministry of Justice; a position he served from October 2003 to December 2006.
As a lawyer, then Atty. Boakai N. Kanneh began his first legal practice in May of 2006 when he joined the Judiciary Branch of Government to serve as a Public Defense Counsel (Public Defender) at the 11th Judicial Circuit, Bomi County, Republic of Liberia, until May 2008 when he had to traveled abroad for further study in law. Upon his return, Atty. Boakai Kanneh joined the Sherman & Sherman Inc., a private law firm, and worked as an Assistant Counsel from August 2010 to March 2012.
In a positive response to the call to continuous service to the government and people of Liberia, Cllr. Kanneh returned to the Ministry of Foreign Affairs when he was appointed Deputy Minister for Legal Affairs by the President of Liberia, Ellen Johnson Sirleaf; a position he held from March 2012 – March 2016 when she subsequently appointed him Chairman of the Law Reform Commission in March of 2016, where he served until his nomination, confirmation, appointment and commissioning as Associate Justice of the Honorable Supreme Court of Liberia by President Joseph N. Boakai, Sr., in July 2025.
Mr. Justice Kanneh’s passion for the law is grounded in his many years of dedication and commitment to imparting legal knowledge to students of the Louis Arthur Grimes School of Law where he has been an Associate Professor of Law since 2009 to date and his legal research works which include:
- Sino-Liberia Relationship: An Analysis of Liberia’s Foreign Policy Orientation Towards the Chinese Community. This was research (thesis) in fulfillment of requirements for a Bachelor of Arts degree in Political Science.
- Liberia: The Impact of Executive Influence on the Judiciary. Research in fulfillment of requirements for a Master’s degree in Law at the Maurer School of Law, Indiana University, Bloomington, Indiana, USA.
- Criminal Law: University of Liberia, Louis Arthur Grimes School of Law Educational Series. A course book written to aid in the teaching of Criminal Law at the Louis Arthur Grimes School of Law.
His membership and affiliations include:
- Member: Liberian National Bar Association (LNBA)
- Member: African Bar Association (ABA)
- Member: Supreme Court Bar (Liberia)
- Member: Center for the Promotion of Intellectual Development (CENPID)
- Member: College Old Boys Association (COBA), Christ the King College, Bo, Sierra Leone
Mr. Justice Kanneh is blessed with two (2) boys, namely: Bobby Bryant Kanneh and Allen Jallah Kanneh.
Associate Justice Boakai N. Kanneh is currently the oversight Justice of the 16th Judicial Circuit, Gbarbolu County, 11th Judicial Circuit, Bomi County and 5th Judicial Circuit, Grand Cape Mount County, on the Bench of the honorable Supreme Court of Liberia.
OPINIONS BY HIS HONOR JUSTICE BOAKAI N. KANNEH
Republic of Liberia vs Matu Kumba Montgomery (02/16/2026)
This case is on appeal from the final ruling rendered, by the Sixth Judicial Circuit, Civil Law Court, Montserrado County. The trial records reveal that on December 27, 2015, Madam Matu Kumba Montgomery, appellee in the instant proceedings, filed a five-count action of summary proceedings to recover possession of real property against the appellant, More Than Me Foundation by and thru its CEO Katie Meyler. In the said complaint, the appellee indicated that she is the legitimate and bonafide owner of the disputed property by virtue of a curator’s deed issued in her favour in October, 2011 by the Monthly Read more →
Kadijatu B. Jalloh vs. Intestate Estates (02/16/2026)
The instant action of ejectment is before us on appeal from a ruling rendered by the assigned trial judge of the Sixth Judicial Circuit, Civil Law Court, Montserrado County, during its March Term of Court A .D. 2024, where the contesting parties for two (2) distinct parcels of land traced their respective title instruments to separate grantors. The relevant facts as culled from the records show that on June 1, 2023, the Intestate Estate of Thomas Miller, plaintiff in the court below, filed a sixteen-count action of ejectment against Kadijatu B. Jalloh by and thru her attorneys-in-fact Alpha O. Jalloh Read more →
Executive Parking Services Incorporated vs His Honor Scheaplor R. Dunbar (02/13/2026)
This appeal is from the ruling of our esteemed Colleague, Madam Justice Ceaineh D. Clinton Johnson, who presided in Chambers during the March Term of Court, A.D. 2025. The Justice in Chambers, upon hearing had on the petition for the issuance of the writ of certiorari, quashed the alternative writ, and denied the issuance of the peremptory writ of certiorari prayed for by the appellant, Executive Parking Services by and thru its CEO, Mr. Joseph Blake. The relevant facts as culled from the records reveal that on January 3, 2025, the appellee, the Intestate Estate of Vamuyan Corneh and Vamuyan Read more →
John Jallah vs. Republic of Liberia (02/13/2026)
During the November Term, A.D. 2010 of the First Judicial Circuit Court for Montserrado County, the Grand Jury sitting therein returned a true bill charging the appellants, John Jallah and others with the commission of the crime of criminal mischief. The indictment emanating therefrom reads as follows: “INDICTMENT The Grand Jurors for Montserrado County, Republic of Liberia, upon their oath do hereby find, more probably than not, that the defendant, John Jallah, Moses Fahn and others to be identified, committed the crime of Criminal Mischief, a felony of the third degree, to wit: 1. That sometimes ago, around the second Read more →
Samuel D. Tweah, et al vs. His Honor Roosevelt Willie (02/12/2026)
The original petition for the writ of prohibition into an alleged case of economic sabotage, theft of property, money laundering, criminal facilitation, and criminal conspiracy against Samuel D. Tweah, Former Minister of Finance & Development Planning, Counsellor Nyenati Tuan, Former Acting Minister of Justice, Stanley S. Ford, Former Director of the Financial Intelligence Agency, Moses P. Cooper, Former Comptroller of the Financial Intelligence Agency and Jefferson Karmoh, Former National Security Advisor was heard on November 17, 2025 and decided on December 18, 2025, in which case this Court denied the petitioners’ petition for the writ of prohibition and ordered the Read more →
Liberia Agriculture Corporation (LAC) and Board of Tax Appeals (BOTA) vs. The Liberian Revenue Authority (02/12/2026)
The appellant, Liberian Agricultural Corporation (LAC), is before this Court based upon an appeal from the final ruling of the Tax Court, Montserrado County, in an action of petition for judicial review instituted by the appellee herein, the Liberia Revenue Authority (LRA) represented by its Commissioner General, Mr. James Dorbor Jallah. The appellant has presented for our review, a twenty-three (23) count bill of exceptions which they allege constitute reversible errors committed by the trial judge. We first examine the trial records to ascertain the facts and circumstances that culminated into the present appeal. The certified records reveal that the Read more →
Liberty Christian Center Overcomers vs Mrs. Nohad Mensah formerly Nohad Milage Hage (02/12/2026)
The instant appeal originates from a final ruling rendered by the trial judge of the Sixth Judicial Circuit, Civil Law Court, Montserrado County, in an action of ejectment, wherein the jury returned a verdict of liable against the appellants herein, Liberty Christian Center Overcomers and Ms. Bernice Blamah, and in favor of the appellee herein, Mrs. Nohad Mensah formerly Nohad M. Hage, represented by and thru her attorney-in-fact, Mrs. Edith Hage Seigeh. The allegations contained in the complaint basically state that the appellee, Mrs. Nohad Mensah is the owner of two (2) lots of land, lying and situated in the Read more →
Republic of Liberia vs Afric Diam Company Inc. (12/19/2025)
The records before us reveal that the Liberia Revenue Authority (LRA), acting in its statutory capacity under the Revenue Code of Liberia, Title 36 of the Liberian Code of Laws Revised, conducted a tax audit of respondent covering the fiscal years 2011–2015. Following the audit, the LRA assessed the respondent with a tax liability amounting to US$2,517,535.51, comprising of penalties and interest. The respondent objected to the assessment, and an administrative review was conducted, resulting in the confirmation of the tax liability of US$2,517,535.51 found by the auditors. Dissatisfied, the respondent failed to settle the assessed amount, whereupon the Read more →
Sarpo Community vs. The Central Bank of Liberia (12/18/2025)
The Constitution of Liberia provides for the equal treatment of all persons, groups, and races regardless of sex, creed, religion, ethnic background, place of origin or political affiliation. For this reason, any allegation of discrimination against any individual or group should be treated with outmost care and extreme seriousness. This, we must do because our Constitution calls for national integration and unity of the people of Liberia, regardless of ethnic, regional or other difference, into one body politic. Our Constitution also mandates the Government to take steps, by appropriate legislation and executive orders, to eliminate sectionalism, tribalism and such abuses Read more →
Mrs. Mamie Dabah Pelham vs. Speedy Garage (12/18/2025)
This motion to dismiss appeal emanates from the final ruling of the Commercial Court, in an action of damages for breach of contract between the present parties Mrs. Mamie Dabah Pelham by and thru her Attorney-in-Fact, Mr. E. Cosby Pelham, and the movant, Speedy Garage, by and thru its managing partner Mack, respondent herein. The records certified to this Court show that on March 5, 2025, the Commercial Court delivered its final ruling, holding the respondent liable in both special and general damages for breach of the contract executed with the movant, whereupon, the respondent noted exceptions to this final Read more →
Marthaline Cole vs Daniel S. Sennah, Isaac Sennah and Thomas Sennah (12/18/2025)
This appeal emanates from a ruling of our Esteemed Colleague, Madam Justice Ceaineh D. Clinton-Johnson, while presiding in Chambers during the March Term of Court, A.D. 2025, following a hearing on a petition for a writ of certiorari filed by the appellees herein, Daniel S. Sennah, Isaac Sennah and Thomas Sennah of the Intestate Estate of the Daniel Sennah against the appellant, Marthaline Cole. The Justice in Chambers, having heard the case, rendered her ruling, dated August 26, 2025, granting the peremptory writ of certiorari. The appellant, being dissatisfied with the Chambers Justice’s ruling, noted exceptions and announced an appeal Read more →
The Management of Auto Spare Garage vs Mohammed Heyek (12/18/2025)
On September 16, 2024, Mr. Mohammed Hayek, appellee, by and thru his legal counsel filed a complaint of unfair labor practice and wrongful dismissal with the Ministry of Labor against the Auto Spare Garage, appellant herein. The appellee basically alleged that he had worked for the Auto Spare Garage as Chief Mechanic for a period of seven (7) years spanning from 2016 to 2023; that during the course of his employment with Auto Spare Garage, he maintained a cordial relationship with his employer until the end of November 2023 when he (appellee) fell ill on the premises of the appellant Read more →