IPNews-Monrovia: It was few months ago when Justina Taylor made these revelations that Monrovia City Mayor, Jefferson T. Koijee, was a member of Charles Taylor notorious Anti Terrorist Unit-ATU, noted for carrying out numerous atrocities and human rights violations across Liberia during the Charles Taylor era.
Hours after the revelation by Miss Justina Taylor, she was found lying in a pull of blood, allegedly raped and helpless, with fingers pointed at Jefferson Koijee, even though Koijee has since denied involvement.
Taken to the Catholic Medical Hospital, there she stayed heavily guarded Police until a civil action led by renown Radio talk show host and activist Henry Costa , rallying hundreds of ordinary Liberians to have Madam Taylor rescue from the Catholic Hospital to attend an alleged Visa interview at the United States Embassy, a claims which is yet to be verify.
Now, the International Justice Group-IJG, led by former Commissioner of the erstwhile Truth and Reconciliation Commission-TRC, Jerome J. Verdier , is now rallying international action for Jefferson Koijee and others members of the President George Weah regime.
In a communication to the members of Democratic Black Caucus, United States Congress, and the U.S. State Department, a copy which is obtained by the Independent Probe, Cllr. Jerome Verdier labeled the action of Jefferson Koijee and other regime collaborators as reckless and abhorrent which warrant a comprehensive call for targeted sanctions.
“RECKLESS AND ABHORRANT A CALL FOR SANCTIONS, COMPREHENSIVE AND TARGETED, AGAINST THE REGIME OF PRESIDENT GEORGE M WEAH OF LIBERIA, HIS CLOSE ASSOCIATES AND KEY MEMEBERS OF HIS GOVERNMENT, INCLUDING OTHERS WITHOUT GOVERNMENT WITH INFLUENCE, DECISION- AND – POLICY –MAKING AUTHORITY. AN IJG REPORT ON HUMAN RIGHTS VIOLATIONS IN LIBERIA, PURSUANT TO THE GLOBAL MAGNITSKY HUMAN RIGHTS ACCOUNTABILITY ACT AS IMPLEMENTED BY EXECUTIVE ORDER 13818 OF THE UNITED STATES GOVERNMENT WASHINGTON DC OCTOBER 26, 2019”
Vardier in his case to the US Democratic Caucus cataloged series of actions and occurrences linking Jefferson Koijee and other members of the Weah’s regime to gross human rights violations.
Quoting the Global Magnitsky Human Rights Accountability Act as implemented by Executive Order 13818 Case Dossier, Jerome Vardier outlined that Jefferson T. Koijee Mayor of Monrovia, Liberia, as first Perpetrator with the following:
Information Full Legal Name of Perpetrator: Jefferson T. Koijee Country: Liberia Title or Position: Mayor of Monrovia, Liberia (since January 2018); current member and officer of the Congress for Democratic Change (CDC) Party (2005 to present) and defacto Chief of Security and Law Enforcer for President George Manneh Weah; former body guard of Chuckie Taylor, who was the Commander of the former notorious Liberia Antiterrorism Unit (ATU) (from 1997 to 2003) and also convicted of Torture in 2009 in the US and is currently serving a 97 year sentence. Chuckie is also the son of former Liberia President Charles Taylor a convicted war criminal serving a 50-year sentence in the United Kingdom. Date of Birth: 09/07/1985 Other Known Personal Identifiers: works and resides in Monrovia, Liberia. Jefferson T. Koijee is the current Mayor of the capital city of Liberia Monrovia.
Koijee is the first Mayor to be confirmed by the Liberian Senate since the end of the civil war, being confirmed unanimously by the Senate Committee on Internal Affairs and Good Governance. Prior to this, he was the National Youth Chairman for the Revolutionary National Youth League of the ruling Coalition for Democratic Change, where he worked as the leader of the young people of over One million around the country. Koijee worked between 2008 and 2010 as County Coordinator, Montserrado forthe Federation of Liberian Youth, the umbrella organization for all youth groupings in Liberia. He is a candidate of Bachelor of Business Administration (BBA) in Management of the Stella Maris Polytechnic and also a candidate of Bachelor of Science (BSC) in Political Science of the University of Liberia. https://www.weforum.org/people/jefferson-koijee.
Another part of the GLOBAL MAGNITSKY ACT Building for gross Human Rights violations and Accountability Act, on December 20, 3 2017, the President signed E.O. 13818, “Blocking the Property of Persons Involved in Serious Human Rights Abuse or Corruption,” in which the President found that the prevalence of human rights abuse and corruption that have their source, in whole or in substantial part, outside the United States, has reached such scope and gravity that they threaten the stability of international political and economic systems. Human rights abuse and corruption undermine the values that form an essential foundation of stable, secure, and functioning societies; have devastating impacts on individuals; weaken democratic institutions; degrade the rule of law; perpetuate violent conflicts; facilitate the activities of dangerous persons; and undermine economic markets.
The United States seeks to impose tangible and significant consequences on those who commit serious human rights abuse or engage in corruption, as well as to protect the financial system of the United States from abuse by these same persons. As a result, there will be clear and convincing evidence that the current government of Liberia, in particular Jefferson T. Koijee, Mayor of Monrovia who was appointed and works for Liberian President George M. Weah and is involved in human rights violations and corruption that undermine the values that form an essential form an essential foundation of stable, secure, and functioning societies; have devastating impacts on individuals; weaken democratic institutions; degrade the rule of law; perpetuate violent conflicts; facilitate the activities of dangerous persons; and undermine economic markets. The United States seeks to impose tangible and significant consequences on those who commit serious human rights abuse or engage in corruption, as well as to protect the financial system of the United States from abuse by these same persons.
The U.S. government must uphold its stated commitment to promoting human rights and fighting corruption (as noted in the preface to EO 13818), the most compelling arguments will also include why a particular designation will work to advance U.S. interests and international peace and security more broadly. By sanctioning Mayor Jefferson T. Koijee it will send a targeted message to the Liberian government that any acts of human rights abuses and corruption, will isolate an individual spoiler, curb illicit finance, limit future human rights abuses within the entire government. In addition to restricting any visa and/or travel to the United States, the US government should freeze/block Jefferson Koijee and place him on OFAC’s “Specially Designated Nationals”(SDN) list.
This action will deter similarly situated actors of the Liberian government or others affiliated with the Liberian government from engaging in human rights abuses and/or corruption. 2. National Interest Argument & Summary of Impact The Government of Liberia continues to engage in serious acts of human rights abuses and corruption.
Since the current Liberian administration took power in January 2018 the Human Rights and Corruption situation has continued to deteriorate. Although there are many individuals involve, most notable are the actions of the Mayor of Monrovia Jefferson T. Koijee who was appointed and works for President George M. Weah. Koijee’s acts of violence including torture, unlawful detention and most recently attempted murder go unquestioned and he carries out his actions with impunity and with the knowledge and consent of President Weah.
His actions will be chronicled below by public new accounts documenting a quite a compilation of criminal activity in such a short period of time. The 4 actions of torture and attempted murder are no doubt akin to crimes against humanity and violations of international human law that must be stopped and he must be sanctioned by the US government.
The report further states that Koijee actions are not alone, rather a stark pattern of criminal behavior of human rights violations and corruption which were documented below in the U.S. Department of State 2018 Liberia Human Rights Report the following incidents occurred: U.S. Department of State – Liberia 2018 Human Rights Report According to the U.S. Department of State Liberia 2018 Human Rights Report the human rights issues included the following: • Extrajudicial killings by police; • Arbitrary and prolonged detention by government officials; • Harsh and life-threatening prison conditions; • Undue restrictions on the press; criminal libel despite progress to enact legislation decriminalizing press offenses; • Official corruption; • Lack of accountability in cases of violence against women due to government inaction in some instances, including rape, domestic violence, and female genital mutilation/cutting (FGM/C); • Trafficking in persons; • Criminalization of consensual same-sex sexual conduct; • Violence targeting lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, and intersex (LGBTI) persons; • Child labor, including its worst forms. Impunity for individuals who committed atrocities during the civil wars, as well as for those responsible for current and continuing crimes, remained a serious problem; the government made intermittent but limited attempts to investigate and prosecute officials accused of current abuses, whether in the security forces or elsewhere in the government. Corruption at all levels of government continued to undermine public trust in state institutions. https://www.state.gov/wp-content/uploads/2019/03/Liberia-2018.pdf According to the Economist in an article dated August 10, 2019 the economic crisis and corruption could lead to violence. Coupled with horrendous ongoing human rights violations the country is on the brink of disaster and there has been absolutely no accountability by the international community. In 2017 Liberians elected a former football star, George Weah, as president.
Verdier communication furthermore stated that President Weah promised to help the poor and give corruption the boot. He is doing neither. Scandals have blighted his first 18 months in office and soaring inflation, which peaked at 29% in December, is hurting the poor in a country where more than half the population lives on less than $2 a day.
He stated that the president’s conduct has not helped. He has built about 50 houses in a compound in the capital. He says he used money he had earned during his days of football stardom. But citizens cannot be sure of this, since he has refused to publicly declare his assets. “It raises eyebrows,” says Anderson Miamen of Transparency International, a corruption watchdog. 5 Governing a country as poor and fractious as Liberia is an unenviable task. But Mr. Weah is simply not up to the job.
He is said to forget key facts, bungle media interviews and drift off in meetings. St Peter’s Lutheran Church in Monrovia, the capital, is filled with children and worshippers. But its windows, pockmarked by bullet holes, hint at a dark history: in 1990 government soldiers massacred 600 people here. Isaac Dowah, the pastor, points at two white stars marking the mass graves and frets: “We’re at a breaking point.”
Summary of Evidence Chronicled in Multiple New Accounts from suppressing free speech by the government of Liberia to attempted murder and at the center of the violence and human rights violations is Mayor Jefferson T. Koijee as depicted below: https://www.economist.com/middle-east-and-africa/2019/08/10/liberias-economiccrisis-and- corruption-could-lead-to-violence 3. Summary of Evidence & Information Chronicling the Human Rights Violations by Jefferson Koijee Liberian Newspaper Sued But Not Silenced Published: Thursday, 12 April 2018 16:53 Written by Jelter Meers Front Page Africa has been sued US$ 1.8 million for defamation in the latest attempt to silence the Liberian newspaper – another reason to change Liberia’s libel laws, the Committee to Protect Journalists (CPJ) said Thursday. Front Page Africa said it has been subject to harassment for reporting critically on successive governments for a long time. In this case, the paper was sued for running an ad, although two other outlets ran it too but were not sued. Court Action Courtesy FPA 6 Rodney Sieh, the newspaper’s owner and editor, said they will not cave and accused the country’s President George Weah and his inner circle of harassing his paper.
“The government’s actions today will not keep us from doing our investigative work but will only strengthen us to do more,” Sieh told OCCRP. “President Weah’s failure to keep his supporters from raining threats on the media falls on his record and his presidency,” he said. “Should anything happen to me or any member of my staff, our blood will be on his hands.”
Using suits and harassment are a part of Liberia’s history, according to CPJ’s Africa Program Coordinator Angela Quintal. “Liberia has a troubling history of libel lawsuits where applicants ask for exorbitant damages simply to harass and intimidate journalists, resulting in their imprisonment or the closure of news outlets,” Quintal said.
“The government should move swiftly to reform Liberia’s libel laws to guard against their abuse in this way.” The lawsuit is centered around a land administration notice published in March. One of the plaintiffs is Henry Morgan, who has ties to the President’s party, the Coalition for Democratic Change (CDC). Other papers also published the notice but were not sued. Front Page Africa already received two summonses to appear in court.
Sieh thinks that the arrests were unnecessary and feels that they are being singled out. “Contrary to what the ministry of information has stated, we are strongly convinced that the government is definitely behind what happened today and the Presidency is in the know,” Sieh told OCCRP. “Several other newspapers published the same land announcement as we did but only our newspaper was singled out. Was it really necessary to arrest and shut down our premises?”
A week before the summons, CDC member Jefferson Koijee – the mayor of Monrovia, where the paper is based – condemned the newspaper for its critical reporting on the government. Koijee attacked Sieh, who is also a member of CPJ, personally for his “unprofessional attacks on the presidency,” Front Page Africa said. At the same time, Sieh and the paper were being harassed by anonymous social media users who claimed that the newspaper was anti-government. One of the social media posts showed a picture of Sieh’s home and threatened with arson, Sieh told CPJ. Sieh thinks that the Facebook threats are ploys of the government. 7 “We are aware that government operatives have been using fake social media accounts to attack our credibility and issue threats against me and my staff – with some suggesting arson,” he said. The summons was delivered on April 9 by court sheriffs who detained seven journalists for three hours and temporarily shut down the office, Front Page Africa’s editor Lennart Dodoo told CPJ. Dodoo said that they were released after their lawyer negotiated for a $ 350,000 bond to be paid the next day. They started publishing again the same day.
The depiction by government officials of the paper as anti-government is not fair as the paper ran a lot of positive stories as well, according to Sieh. Liberia’s Information Ministry denied any connection between the government and the lawsuit in a statement released on the same day as the summons. “The government’s denial is the oldest trick in the book – as we have seen in other countries across Africa, they hide behind civil lawsuits to strike and suppress the press,” Sieh said. Front Page Africa was asked to retract the advertisement by the lawyers of the nowplaintiffs in March, after which the paper published a clarification on the notice. https://www.occrp.org/en/27-ccwatch/cc-watch-briefs/7928-liberian-newspaper-sued-butnot- silenced Liberia: Ruling Party Headquarters Turn to Detention Center? FrontPageOnline By Edwin Genoway, Jr. September 17, 2019 Monrovia – Five persons have accused the ruling Coalition for Democratic Change (CDC) of beating and jailing them on the orders of Mayor Jefferson Koijee, who is also the leader of the party’s youth wing. 8 The alleged victims claim they were detained in a dark room in the building housing the headquarters of the ruling party in Congo Town.
The incident happened a couple of weeks after the Deputy Police Chief for Operations, Marve Sackor was manhandled by some members of the CDC. The victims told FrontPage Africa that they were arrested, beaten and jailed by a unit within the party dubbed “Zebra Unit,” which they alleged takes orders from Monrovia City Mayor Koijee. Solomon Boe, Sam Harris, Olive, and Emmanuel Kpagbor, in separate accounts, told this paper that they were all arrested on Monday, September 8, 2019 at about 1 AM and taken to the party headquarters and incarcerated for two days without food or water. The four victims are employees of an entertainment center located a few blocks away from the compound of the CDC. Solomon Boe, who sustained wounds on his finger and head after allegedly being flogged, said his belongings including his phone were all taken away. He explained that he and his workmates were leaving work when they were confronted by people, they claimed were partisans of the CDC. Solomon explained: “We walked near the road not far from our working place waiting for our other friend that we all planned to go and enjoy ourselves somewhere when we saw Olive running and two guys behind her attempting to take her bag when they noticed our group, they left from behind her.
After few minutes we saw another two guys holding cutlass and stick with nails all on it, though the guys that ran behind Olive ran back in the same direction the other two guys came from, I cannot tell whether or not were the same two that were after Olive.” He furthered explained that,” When the two guys with the weapon in their hands approached where we were standing, they engaged us and asked us what were we doing around the road at that hour of the night, we too asked them what were they doing out with cutlass and sticks with nails all around it at the same hour of the night and one of them said they were told by their boss Jefferson Koijee to man trees being planted along the streets by the Monrovia City Corporation (MCC).
“While in the bitter argument, one of them left the scene and ran into the party headquarters and before we could make up of our mind we saw a white pick full of huge men calling themselves Zebra Unit and they collected us and took us to the party headquarters, that’s how our beating started.” Solomon said Mayor Koijee was present at the party headquarters when they were arrested. He noted that it was on the Mayor instruction that promoted their incarceration. “What got me angrier was when the Mayor told them that they should lock us up and not release us until he says so; the guys took us at the back of the building where there are two 9 old bathrooms with pupu (toilet) all inside, there where they put us,” he explained.
“When they took us there and we saw the mayor I was happy a bit, thinking he was going to tell his boys to release us but he instead told them to hold us.” Meanwhile, Mayor Koijee told FrontPage Africa that he has no idea of what transpired at the party headquarters. The victims, some of whom, are said to be CDCians insist that they saw Mayor Koijee at the party headquarters the night of the incident. Another victim, Sam Harris, said his clothes were taken off him and he was thrown in the cell. “Myself I am a CDCians we all used to be in that compound day and night but they all acted like they never knew me from anywhere, even the pekin who was manning the cell door is someone I know and he knows me well,” Harris said, while denouncing his membership from the CDC. “Let be clear, with the heartless action these guys took against us on the instruction of Jefferson Koijee, I am no longer a CDCian, let CDC stay on their lane and I will stay on my lane, even my mother or father or any of my relatives join CDC will not be supported by me.”
For victim Olive, she claims her phone was stolen while she was allegedly beaten by another female identified as “CDC female Giant.” Victim Emmanuel Kpagbor also alleged that his US$20 and LD$1,500 were allegedly taken from him and his clothes were taken off him as well. There have been a series of allegations of brutality leveled against the ruling party. In October 2014, the former Deputy National Secretary of the CDC Gbeh Salinto Montgomery accused Koijee and CDC current Chairman Mulbah Morlu of stripping him naked and flogging him. Montgomery, at the time, alleged that Koijee and Morlu harmed him because of his support for the party’s former chairman, Mr. George Solo. https://frontpageafricaonline.com/news/liberia-ruling-pary-headquarters-turn-todetention-center/
Count 10: The African Exponent When a Nonentity takes to Notoriety: the Gangsterism of Monrovia City Mayor, Jefferson T. Koijee November 20th, 2018 By Alfred P. B. Kiadii & Moses Uneh Yahmia A mad house with dullards and perverts scrambling for quick fortune in the face of a frontal assault on the living standards of the masses of the people, the erosion of the fundamental superstructure institutions, compounded by the wholesale defenestration of decent compatriots from the public sector and replacement by despicable CDC faithful, have been the modus operandi and modus vivendi of the wretched CDC government for the last months. These gory anomalies echo a chilling foreshadowing of the disaster that lurks on the horizon, a downward ebb of governance, and the disruption and reversal of basic gains the homeland made over the years. All the symptoms of a dying administration in all of its manifestations have occurred with striking exactitude, making critical compatriots to conclude that Liberia is in the throes of a putrid crisis. This spells doom for the country and places it not on the cusp of the abyss but at its lowest rungs.
On closer examination of the tragic farce, although we have been treated to the hollow rhetoric of ‘this government will succeed’ from the rabid ‘dat our time boys’, such whipping of opportunistic demagoguery from fanatics run in stark opposite to the widespread anarchy and the scandalous bankruptcy that pervade governance. https://www.africanexponent.com/bpost/5076-all-the-symptoms-of-a-dying-administration News Public Policy MEDIA UNDER ASSAULT IN LIBERIA, KOIGEE ATTACKS FPA EDITOR April 5, 2018.
Barely a month after President George M. Weah branded British Broadcasting 11 Corporation (BBC) stringer Jonathan Paye-Layleh as “one of those who were against” his peace advocacy, Monrovia City Mayor, Jefferson Koijee, has upped the ante, with a blistering attack on the Managing Editor of the FrontPage Africa newspaper in Monrovia. Koijee is one of the staunch (loyal) members of the governing Coalition for Democratic Change (CDC) and also Youth League chair of CDC. Mayor Koijee lambasted Rodney D. Sieh for what he termed as unprofessional attacks on the presidency and the denigration of initiatives by the government, including negotiations of about US$536 million needed for a proposed coastal highway, among others. Mayor Koijee said it was unfortunate for Mr. Sieh to present himself as a champion of the cause, adding, “Do not use the media to launch your selfish, cruel agenda, because Liberia needs to be developed and this is the best moment.”
According to the Monrovia City Mayor, the media and the government remain strong partners and will continue to support President Weah in the development of Liberia, noting, “The media and civil society, including the religious community, are a vital force in building Liberia.” Mayor Koijee said the Weah-led administration is not against the press and cannot be against the media. However, he said it was unfortunate for few “redheads” within the media to continue to send negative statements or messages against the President of Liberia. “We have great media practitioners in Liberia, including journalists Frank Sainworla, Dr. Kenneth Y. Best, the late Tom Kamara and many others who we continue to respect. You have a man, Rodney D. Sieh, who is currently presiding over or is owner of a residence that costs close to US$600,000, which requires investigation,”
Mayor Koijee said. “But there are people beginning to launch senseless attacks on President Weah’s reign. For instance, since President Weah talked about the building of a new Monrovia, fake media practitioners, who are pretending to be serious people, continue to give a negative information about the initiative,” Mayor Koijee said.
He indicated that there are polluted and contaminated elements within the media, who pretend to be media practitioners, and called on the media not to fall prey to such situations. He said the real enemies against the media are those trying to use the media to propagate ugly or bad messages. However, he said they will not be tolerated by the people of Liberia, including the government. Mayor Koijee said the CDC-led administration will not repeat the mistakes of the past government. But at the same time, media practitioners must continue to be very cool and sensitive, in order to rid themselves of those “bad elements,” among which, he said, is FrontPage Africa. “We intend to bring forth a popular government, a government that cares for the people, and the government that will secure the survival of the people, looking at the 62 percent mandate given to President Weah by the people of Liberia,” he said.
According to him, the Weah-led government is prepared to change the living conditions of the people and give them the opportunity for a better hope. But against this backdrop of scathing attacks on journalists and the media, beginning with President Weah’s recent attack on journalist and BBC stringer Jonathan Paye Layleh, there appears to be a growing sense of apprehension among journalists and the public at large. Many now wonder what lies ahead for the media, as well as for Liberia, under a George Weah’s presidency.
And this latest outburst from Monrovia City Mayor Jefferson Koijee against journalist Rodney Sieh, appears to signal what some have described as growing intolerance on the part of this government in regard to freedom of expression and all its ramifications (results).
Moreover, the appointment to high positions of trust of key figures closely linked to war criminal and convicted ex-President Charles Taylor, in the eyes of observers signals a bad omen for the country and its future, particularly with regard to freedom of expression. According to a longtime observer of Liberian politics and former professor of economics at the University of Liberia, Dr. Fred Vanderkraiij, President George Weah is either naive or calculated, judging by the appointments he has made in Government. Professor Vanderkraiij made particular reference to Charles Bright, whose appointment made him virtually a super minister, raising eyebrows far and wide. Dr. Vanderkraiij fears that the rule of law under President Weah may be undermined by individuals whose records do not inspire confidence in attaining the goals of fighting corruption, ending impunity and promoting national reconciliation, as well as transparency, in public management.
He further opines that with the very weak separation of powers, weak rule of law and wrong people appointed, the country risks going down a slippery path, which may lead to a plunge into the abyss. Given such a disposition, and judging from experience, journalists and the media, first in the line of fire, may be in for a very rough ride, given the torrent of vitriolic attacks against media practitioners. Rodney Sieh, /www.newnarratives But journalist and managing editor of the FrontPage Africa newspaper, Rodney Sieh, appears unperturbed by Mayor Koijee’s outbursts. When asked by the Daily Observer why he did not prod Mayor Koijee to produce evidence of his wild claims against him, the Frontpage Africa editor said, “I am not going to say a word to Koijee and we will continue to do more investigative reporting,” which suggests, in other words, that Koijee’s outbursts is but a storm in a teacup. Meanwhile, Mayor Koijee also lauded the World Bank and other partners for the level of support to the Monrovia City Corporation (MCC) since he took over as Mayor. 13 Mayor Koijee said the World Bank and partners have been instrumental in ensuring that the waste management is successful. He said despite the enormous challenges faced by the City of Monrovia, the World Bank and partners have been ensuring that those challenges are addressed. “This coming first Saturday of April, we will be launching the second phase of the Weah for Clean City. We want to appreciate all of those who have been helping to ensure that this city does not remain like this,” he said.
According to him, the Armed Forces of Liberia has also committed itself in helping to carry on the cleanup campaign on Saturday. “This phase will begin at the Freeport of Monrovia to Duala and to New Kru Town. We want to call on all business people and partners to give their cooperation as the campaign will commence at 7 a.m.,” he said. According to him, the cleanup team will also visit Clara Town and its environs as a way of inspiring residents of the area and ensuring they form part of the process. “We want them to take ownership of the ongoing initiative. We will also be collaborating with Paynesville City due to huge challenges in terms of cleaning the area,” he said. Source/liberianobserver/Alvin Worzimainpic/www.allafrica.com https://www.liberianlistener.com/2018/04/05/media-under-assault-in-liberiakoigee-attacks-fpa- editor/ Bush Chicken Reporter Suffers Chest Injury After Being Detained in Police Holding Cell News June 27, 2019 by Arrington Ballah MONROVIA, Montserrado – After being arrested and detained by Monrovia City police, a Bush Chicken reporter is now suffering from musculoskeletal pain resulting from physical assault, according to a medical report. Zeze Ballah was arrested on June 13 for interfering with city police operations, Monrovia City Corporation’s public relations officer Pekeleh Gbuapaye said in an interview. Gbuapaye said Ballah interfered with police, who were trying to clear Broad Street of suspected criminals on the night of June 13.
Ballah is also the producer of a crime watch nighttime radio show on Hott FM and was near the radio station’s studio on Broad Street on the night of the incident. He questioned the authority of the city police officers to ask a group of individuals on the street to disperse, according to Gbuapaye.
Count 14: The MCC public relations officer said police were responding to complaints from citizens of petty theft and harassment from individuals believed to be tricycle riders near the UBA Bank on upper Broad street. “Zeze was outside, too. And that’s how he said it was not the function of the city police to be telling people to leave the street,” Gbuapaye said. He said the reporter encouraged the individuals to resist, which created tension for the police. As a result of Ballah’s words, Gbuapaye said the cyclists resisted the police and formed a circle around the officers to prevent them from leaving the scene. “So, the city police managed to get hold of two of the guys who were involved in the process, who wanted to instigate chaos at the time, by causing violence. And they started to call Zeze’s name, telling him that they were arrested,” Gbuapaye added. Gbuapaye said, this, in addition to Ballah’s earlier comment, led the head of the city police to ask him to provide his identity, but Ballah initially refused to identify himself, but later said he was a journalist, although he did not disclose which institution he worked for. Gbuapaye said Ballah’s refusal to identify himself prompted his arrest and detention.
He was then charged with obstruction of justice, simple assault, and disorderly conduct. However, MCC’s public relations officer said following the intervention of the Press Union of Liberia’s vice president, Octavin Williams, the matter was amicably resolved, and MCC dropped the charges. “There was a charge sheet, and we wanted to go to court; but we don’t see reason that MCC as an institution and a journalist [to] go to court,” he noted. “We decided to resolve this and he [Ballah] did a communication that the issue with him and the police officers have been resolved—he did it, and the records are in my office.” However, Ballah denied that he had interfered with police operations, as claimed by the MCC official. According to Ballah, he had watched officers arrest two individuals and after the arrest, an officer walked to him and asked him to identify himself. “I told him Zeze Ballah. He again asked who am I and where do I work. I again told him that I am Zeze Ballah and work for myself,” he added.
Ballah said following his response, the officer ordered his arrest, alleging that he had ordered individuals to attack the city police officers. Ballah says MCC police falsely accused him and began flogging and kicking him in his chest and other areas on his body.
“When we reached the MCC headquarters, I was asked to write a statement. My money and other belongings were taken from me and my shirt [was] taken off me. I was also denied [the chance] to make calls to family members, friends, and loved ones,” Ballah said. “I was treated like a criminal and later placed into a holding cell.” He described the MCC police holding cell as being ‘very dirty with feces and urines all over the floor.
Ballah said his three phones were taken away from him by the officers, but only one was returned following his release. However, Gbuapaye has denied this claim, noting that Ballah had not indicated such in his formal statement to the police. Ballah identified what he said were several contradictions from the officers who wanted him implicated. He said one account of the officers claimed that he was photographing the incident. “I insisted that MCC provide evidence on the allegation that I did photo or instigated violence. The scene did not show any evidence of damage on vehicle or stone to indicate that indeed there was a violent act carried out in the area,” Ballah added.
He admitted to the MCC official’s claim of signing a statement to amicably resolve the matter following the intervention of the Press Union’s vice president. When contacted, the Press Union’s Williams said his role in Ballah’s release was to avoid a commotion between members of the media and state security actors. “I am a witness of state security actors and journalist having issues,” he said, “even if they want to pick false on you, they have many ways they can do it, and as journalists, at [a] certain level, you must settle down. But, basically, I wanted the issue to be resolved.” At the same time, one of the two individuals previously arrested by the Monrovia City Police, Sunny Chea, has denied that the reporter ever interfered with the officers’ operation or instigated any violence.
Chea also accused the city police of attempting to coerce them to falsely testify against the reporter in order to secure their release. An independent investigation of the scene of the reported violence and interviews with individuals residing in the area did not point to proof of any physical damage on any vehicle or any evidence of stones or objects on the street as the result of violence on June 13.
Meanwhile, Ballah believes that his arrest and subsequent detention was as a result of a radio show he held two nights prior to his arrest when citizens expressed their views about the stockpiles of garbage in Monrovia, which they believe poses serious threats to their health and security. During that show, callers also called for the Monrovia mayor, Jefferson 16 Koijee, to be dismissed. Featured photo by Lloyd Massah https://www.bushchicken.com/reporter-suffers-chest-injury-after-being-detainedin-police-holding- cell/ Liberia: Probe Ordered Into Ruling Partisans Attack on Police Deputy, Trying to Curb Opposition Election Victory Celebration By Rodney Sieh Last updated Aug 3, 2019 Rodney D. Sieh, rodney.sieh@frontpageafricaonline.com
