By Melvin Jackson
In a country where disability is often misunderstood, Atty. Joshua B. Shadrach is building a legal career that many once said was impossible.
Seated confidently and speaking with calm conviction, the visually impaired attorney recently received an appointment as public defense counsel at the Ganta City Court, where he will represent indigent defendants — those who cannot afford legal representation.
“We are just differently abled,” he says. For Shadrach, it is not a catchphrase. It is the principle that has guided his life for more than two decades.
A Sudden Turn
Shadrach was not born blind. He once lived an active life, playing competitive football for teams including YASA and Michigan. Everything changed in 2003 when he lost his sight.
“It was tough,” he recalls. “At first, I thought that was the end of life. But then I asked myself — am I the only one?”
That question, he says, became a turning point. Rather than withdrawing, he set about rebuilding. “I needed to regain my value,” he says.
Defying Expectations
When Shadrach enrolled at the Louis Arthur Grimes School of Law at the University of Liberia, some questioned whether a visually impaired man could succeed in a system that rarely accommodates difference.
He refused special treatment — and received none.
“There was nothing like ‘this man is a special student,'” he says. “I was treated equally, like any other person.”
He worked long nights that stretched into early mornings, studying largely on his own. “Only God saw it,” he reflects.
Blindness reshaped how he works, but did not stop him. Armed with a computer equipped with screen-reading software, Shadrach independently studies case files, some exceeding 100 pages. “My computer talks to me,” he explains. “Nobody reads for me. I read everything myself.”
He supplements the technology with braille, downloading legal materials — criminal procedure law, civil procedure law, the Constitution — and processing them through both methods.
His approach reflects what the United Nations Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities (CRPD) has long maintained: that barriers, not impairments, are the true obstacles to inclusion. For Shadrach, once the barrier of access to information was removed, his ability to compete was never in question.
After graduating in 2023, he began practicing as a private defense counsel at the Gardnersville Magistrate Court, where he built a reputation for diligence and competence.
“I performed very well,” he says, with quiet assurance.
A New Assignment
His appointment by Chief Justice Yamie Quiqui Gbeisay to the Ganta City Court draws on that track record. Shadrach sees the move as a natural progression.
“If I perform at Gardnersville, I can perform anywhere,” he says.
He is aware the appointment carries significance for others in Liberia’s disability community — and he does not take that lightly.
“It encourages persons with disabilities to persevere,” he says. “We shouldn’t underestimate ourselves.”
Disability advocates across Africa have long called for inclusion in professional spaces — not as charity, but as a right, a principle also central to the Sustainable Development Goals’ commitment to leaving no one behind. Shadrach’s appointment is a small but concrete step in that direction.
He recalls friends who once warned him that no one would hire a visually impaired lawyer. He did not argue with them. He kept working.
Beyond the Courtroom
Outside of his legal practice, Shadrach supports his wife, four children, and additional children living under his care. “Yes,” he says with a smile, “they are all being catered to by me.”
As he prepares to take up his new post in Ganta, he is straightforward about the doubts that still follow him — and equally straightforward about his response to them.
“By the grace of God and through relentless effort, I have moved from doubt to distinction. Now I am ready to stand in court not just as a lawyer, but as proof that limitation is often a matter of perception.”
This story was funded by the European Union under the Liberia Media Empowerment Project (LMEP). Its contents are the sole responsibility of journalRAGE and do not necessarily reflect the views of the European Union.