Monrovia – The Liberia Football Association (LFA) has suspended vice President Cassell ‘The Fraudster’ Kuoh for 90 days and expelled executive committee member (ECM) Rochelle Woodson.
Report by Danesius Marteh, [email protected]
The decision was reached at the 21st ordinary congress on December 27 following a proposal by LISCR FC President Mustapha Raji.
Raji petitioned congress to take action on the long absence without leave (AWOL) by Woodson and Kuoh in keeping with article 47.2 of the LFA 2014 statutes.
It says the positions of the Vice Presidents and other members of the executive committee will be considered vacant in case of death, resignation, or permanent disability or if the vice Presidents and other members of the executive committee do not participate in four consecutive regular meetings.
There were 33 votes in favor of the motion to suspend Kuoh, none against and three in abstentions while 35 voted to expel Woodson, three against and no abstention.
According to an LFA release by communications consultant Horatio Bobby Willie on December 28, Woodson was granted a maternity leave in August, which wasn’t renewed.
Willie said the delegates expelled Woodson relying on Liberia’s labor law, which calls for a person on maternity to stay out of work for 90 days.
Kuoh, who was arrested in the United States of America for alleged gold fraud on November 16, was suspended on integrity ground.
He’s in prison in North Carolina and was denied bail on November 23 by the federal judge of the Western District Court of North Carolina on grounds that he is a flight risk. Kuoh will be remanded in jail until the case is adjudicated.
Report reaching FrontPage Africa indicates that Kuoh allegedly duped Charlotte Police Chief, Kerr Putney, and reportedly bought a house for US$450,000 in cash, purchased two vehicles and then deposited US$80,000 into a friend’s bank account.
The LFA confirmed Kuoh’s arrest in a three-paragraph press release but didn’t provide details.
“The Liberia Football Association (LFA) has received reports about the arrest of its vice President for operations [Cassell Kuoh] by federal law enforcement officials in United States.
“The LFA is not aware about the nature and the reason for the arrest as yet. The LFA is in contact with his family and will continue to provide the public with information on the reasons leading to his detention,” Willie wrote on November 18.
But in response to ELBC’s Moses Garzeawu’s question about his continuous detention at an end-of-year news conference at the LFA headquarters on December 29, President Musa Bility told a pathological lie.
“We informed you through the press release. And the press release said that ‘he was being held on charges of wire fraud, racketeering and all those criminal charges’.
“He has not been convicted. The executive committee, like I told you, this is a legal matter. We didn’t see the reason to remove him but the congress saw it differently.
And they are the highest decision makers,” said Bility.
Kuoh’s character has been tainted with allegations of fraud and it was only a matter of time before he finally comes into conflict with the law.
Documents obtained by FrontPageAfrica in February 2014 revealed that Kuoh holds two passports with different names, dates of birth and occupations, which he has been using since 2007.
In August 2015, the Ministry of Information, Culture and Tourism announced that Kuoh was wanted for prosecution in a US$247,500 theft involving the National Security Agency (NSA) and some Korean businessmen in 2014.
Speaking to reporters at the end of the congress, LFA President Musa Bility said the executive committee will temporarily fill the vacancy in line with the statutes pending congress in March where Kuoh’s fate will be finally decided.
It is highly likely Kuoh will be expelled as the adjudication of his case may exceed March 20, 2017 and a verdict could be reached before his tenure ends a year later.