Chea Job Cheapoo, Sr. (2 November 1942 – 16 September 2020) was a

Liberia Liberia (), officially the Republic of Liberia, is a country on the West African coast. It is bordered by Sierra Leone to Liberia–Sierra Leone border, its northwest, Guinea to its north, Ivory Coast to its east, and the Atlantic Ocean ...

politician A politician is a person active in party politics, or a person holding or seeking an elected office in government. Politicians propose, support, reject and create laws that govern the land and by an extension of its people. Broadly speaking, a ...

who served as the

15th 15 (fifteen) is the natural number following 14 (number), 14 and preceding 16 (number), 16. Mathematics 15 is: * A composite number, and the sixth semiprime; its proper divisors being , and . * A deficient number, a smooth number, a lucky ...

Chief Justice of Liberia The chief justice of Liberia is the head of the judicial branch of the Government of the Republic of Liberia and the chief judge of the Supreme Court of Liberia. Appointment and term Article 54(c) of the Constitution stipulates that the chief ...

from July 1987 until his

impeachment Impeachment is the process by which a legislative body or other legally constituted tribunal initiates charges against a public official for misconduct. It may be understood as a unique process involving both political and legal elements. In ...

and removal from office on December 2 of that year. His full rights were later restored by an act of legislature.

Early life and education

Cheapoo was born on 2 November 1942 in Kiteabo, which was located in the former Webbo District of

Grand Gedeh County Grand Gedeh is a county in the eastern portion of the West African nation of Liberia. One of 15 counties that constitute the first-level of administrative division in the nation, it has three districts. Zwedru (formerly Tchien) serves as the cap ...

. He studied first at the

Assembly of God The Assemblies of God (AG), officially the World Assemblies of God Fellowship, is a group of over 144 autonomous self-governing national groupings of churches that together form the world's largest Pentecostal denomination."Assemblies of God". ...

school in

Pleebo Pleebo (or Plibo) is a city located in Maryland County Maryland County is a county in the southeastern portion of Liberia. One of 15 counties that comprise the first-level of administrative division in the nation, it has two districts. Har ...

, then at

Monrovia Monrovia () is the capital city of the West African country of Liberia. Founded in 1822, it is located on Cape Mesurado on the Atlantic coast and as of the 2008 census had 1,010,970 residents, home to 29% of Liberia’s total population. As the ...

College. In 1961, he earned a diploma in

bookkeeping Bookkeeping is the recording of financial transactions, and is part of the process of accounting in business and other organizations. It involves preparing source documents for all transactions, operations, and other events of a business. Tr ...

from the

Booker Washington Institute The Booker Washington Institute (BWI) is a public, post-secondary school in Kakata, Margibi County, Liberia. Founded in 1929 as the Booker Washington Agricultural and Industrial Institute, it was the country's first agricultural and vocational sch ...

. He graduated from the

North Carolina Central University School of Law The North Carolina Central University School of Law (also known as NCCU School of Law or NCCU Law) is the law school associated with North Carolina Central University. The school is fully accredited by the American Bar Association (ABA) and the ...

in 1970.

Entry into politics

After earning his law degree, Cheapoo returned to Liberia and joined the Ministry of Commerce and Industry. He later became an assistant minister in the

Ministry of Justice A Ministry of Justice is a common type of government department that serves as a justice ministry. Lists of current ministries of justice Named "Ministry" * Ministry of Justice (Abkhazia) * Ministry of Justice (Afghanistan) * Ministry of Just ...

. Cheapoo served in the late 1970s as a

Senator A senate is a deliberative assembly, often the upper house or chamber of a bicameral legislature. The name comes from the ancient Roman Senate (Latin: ''Senatus''), so-called as an assembly of the senior (Latin: ''senex'' meaning "the el ...

from

as a member of the ruling

True Whig Party The True Whig Party (TWP), also known as the Liberian Whig Party (LWP), is the oldest political party in Liberia and one of the oldest parties in Africa. Founded in 1869 by primarily darker-skinned Americo-Liberians in rural areas, its historic ...

, but was forced out after disagreeing with party leaders. He then entered private practice. Soon after, Cheapoo joined the

Progressive Alliance of Liberia The Progressive Alliance of Liberia (PAL) was an opposition political movement formed in 1975 in Liberia led by group of Liberians from the United States and local students. The Political Education Team of the organization was organized, prepared, ...

(PAL), an opposition movement, and became its head counsellor. In early 1980, he served as a spokesman for its successor, the Progressive People's Party (PPP). That same year, the ruling Whigs banned the PPP; Cheapoo and other party leaders were imprisoned on charges of treason.

Judicial appointments

Following the overthrow of the Tolbert government in an April 1980 coup, Cheapoo was freed from prison and appointed Attorney General under the

People's Redemption Council The People's Redemption Council (PRC) was a governmental body that ruled Liberia during the early 1980s. It was established after the 1980 Liberian coup d'état wherein Samuel Doe seized power on 12 April 1980. The Council, with Doe as its chair ...

regime. However, Cheapoo was removed from his position and arrested in September 1981 after being accused of stockpiling arms without permission of the PRC. Following the resignation of Chief Justice James N. Nagbe in June 1987, Cheapoo was appointed by President

Samuel Doe Samuel Kanyon Doe (6 May 1951 – 9 September 1990) was a Liberian politician who served as the 21st president of Liberia from 1980 to 1990. Doe ruled Liberia as Chairman of the People's Redemption Council (PRC) from 1980 to 1984 and then a ...

as Chief Justice. Soon after taking office, he was accused of illegally ordering the arrest of a probate judge and his wife, Harper S. Bailey and Muna Stubblefield, whom he stated had tried to bribe him with $2,000. Amid the resulting controversy, he accused President Doe of unconstitutionally releasing the couple in question,"Doe Violated Constitution Says Cheapoo". ''SunTimes'' 1987-11-24: 1/6. but he submitted to President Doe his resignation on 10 November 1987, but Doe rejected it and called for him to be punished with the removal of his citizenship. Consequently, he was impeached by the

House of Representatives House of Representatives is the name of legislative bodies in many countries and sub-national entitles. In many countries, the House of Representatives is the lower house of a bicameral legislature, with the corresponding upper house often c ...

later in the month, and the

Senate A senate is a deliberative assembly, often the upper house or chamber of a bicameral legislature. The name comes from the ancient Roman Senate (Latin: ''Senatus''), so-called as an assembly of the senior (Latin: ''senex'' meaning "the el ...

convicted him and removed him from office on 2 December on charges of violating the

Constitution A constitution is the aggregate of fundamental principles or established precedents that constitute the legal basis of a polity, organisation or other type of Legal entity, entity and commonly determine how that entity is to be governed. When ...

while in office. The vote was nearly unanimous; only David Menyongai of

Margibi County Margibi is a county on the north to central coast of Liberia. One of 15 counties that constitute the first-level of administrative division in the nation, it has five districts. Kakata serves as the capital with the area of the county measuring ...

voted to acquit. Cheapoo was the first government official to be impeached in Liberia's history. Shortly after his deposition, he was arrested on a charge of defaming President Doe, but he received substantial popular support: he was cheered by crowds of commoners as he went to trial, and the

Montserrado County Montserrado County is a county in the northwestern portion of the West African nation of Liberia containing its national capital, Monrovia. One of 15 counties that comprise the first-level of administrative division in the nation, it has 17 sub p ...

bar association voted to boycott Judge Bailey's courtroom until his removal.

Postwar activities

The Transitional Legislature of Liberia passed a resolution to restore Cheapoo's rights and privileges as a citizen of Liberia on 12 July 1994. He later became Chairman of the Liberia National Conference, which represented unarmed citizens in the Abuja Accord that ended the

First Liberian Civil War The First Liberian Civil War lasted from 1989 to 1997. President Samuel Doe had established a regime in 1980 but totalitarianism and corruption led to unpopularity and the withdrawal of support from the United States by the late 1980s. The Nat ...

. He testified before the

Truth and Reconciliation Commission A truth commission, also known as a truth and reconciliation commission or truth and justice commission, is an official body tasked with discovering and revealing past wrongdoing by a government (or, depending on the circumstances, non-state act ...

in 2008 about the events of the 1980 coup including unsubstantiated claims of CIA involvement.

Elections

Cheapoo participated in the 1997 general elections as the standard bearer of a reconstituted Progressive People's Party (PPP). As the party's candidate for president, Cheapoo won only 0.34% of the vote, while the party failed to win any seats in the legislature. The party did not field candidates in the 2005 elections. Cheapoo was once again the party's candidate for president in

2011 File:2011 Events Collage.png, From top left, clockwise: a protester partaking in Occupy Wall Street heralds the beginning of the Occupy movement; protests against Libyan dictator Muammar Gaddafi, who was killed that October; a young man celebrate ...

; he received 0.3% of the vote, and the PPP won no seats in the legislature.

Death

Cheapoo died at the house of one of his sons in Caldwell,

New Georgia New Georgia, with an area of , is the largest of the islands in Western Province, Solomon Islands, and the 200th-largest island in the world. Geography New Georgia island is located in the New Georgia Group, an archipelago including most of ...

on 16 September 2020.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Cheapoo, Chea 1942 births 2020 deaths Chief justices of Liberia Candidates for President of Liberia Liberian lawyers Progressive People's Party (Liberia) politicians Impeached judges removed from office People from Grand Gedeh County 20th-century Liberian lawyers Attorneys general of Liberia North Carolina Central University alumni 20th-century Liberian judges