rights as necessary in a democratic society. The court has therefore come to the
inevitable conclusion that the justification to deprive a right to property has not
been substantiated. The denial of the Applicant’s pension and other retirement
benefits therefore amounts to the violation of his right to property contrary to
Articles 14 of the ACHPR and 20(a) of the Constitution of the Republic of Liberia and
the court so holds.
59. Violation of the right to equality before the law and freedom from discrimination
The Plaintiff averred that the act of the Defendant in omitting his name from the
payment request and the subsequent payment to his colleagues amounts to a
discrimination against his person. The Defendant on the other hand contends that
the Plaintiff has not proved that payments were made to other members of the
Council of State who resigned prior to the 1997 elections for the purpose of
contesting for the presidency. For an action of discrimination to succeed under the
articles listed above, there must be established a difference of treatment in an
identical or similar case. In BADINI SALFO V THE REPUBLIC OF BURKINA FASO JUD
NO: ECW/CCJ/JUD/13/12, the Court while relying in its judgment in CNDD v. COTE
D’ IVOIRE (2009) Para 55, and PROF. ETIM MOSES v. REP OF GAMBIA, (2007) Para
31, held that:
“Equality before the law presupposes that equal treatment is accorded people
finding themselves in similar situations. Thus, examining the allegation of the
violation of the principle of equality requires that, at least two similar legal
situations be put side by side as to compare and find out whether an ill treatment
was concretely meted out to either one or both of them”.
In the case AFRICAN COMMISSION ON HUMAN AND PEOPLES' RIGHTS V. REPUBLIC
OF KENYA APPLICATION No. 006/2012 JUDGMENT 26 may 2017, which deals with
the violations of various rights of the indigenous people of Ogiek tribe in Kenya
forest, the African Court on Human and Peoples Rights ruling on allegation of
discrimination based on differential treatment of the tribe by the government of
Kenya in comparison to other tribes in similar situation held as follows:
“The Court accordingly finds that, if other groups which are in the same category
of communities, which lead a traditional way of life and with cultural
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