Monrovia – Representative Edwin M. Snowe of Bomi County Electoral District #1 and the Deputy Minister of Information for Press and Public Affairs, Eugene L. Fahngon have found themselves in a web of legal battles totaling US$4 million in damages before the Civil Law Court at the Temple of Justice.
Report by Gerald C. Koinyeneh, [email protected]
While Fahngon sued the leadership of the House of Representatives seeking US$2.5 million for punitive and general damages, Rep. Snowe filed a lawsuit against Deputy Min. Fahngon for compensatory damages, punitive damages and pecuniary damages.
In the writ of summons issued by Judge Yussif D. Kabba, Fahngon was asked to appear on or before September 22, 2018 to answer to the charges but up to press time, there was no court record to show that he appeared.
Snowe accused Fahngon of tarnishing his reputation on social media by falsely accusing him (Snowe) of his involvement in criminal behaviors including being an ex-combatant of former President Charles Taylor who killed innocent people during the civil war.
He said that Fahngon’s false allegation injured him severely as the medium (Facebook Live) Fahngon used to express his falsehood was seen by millions of people including his constituents, friends, peers and colleagues in and out of Liberia.
“Describing me as ex-combatant for the rebel fraction of former President Charles Taylor and a murderer who killed people in Liberia during the civil war was tantamount to lawsuit,” Snowe contended.
It can be recalled that on September 7, 2018 at about 10:30 pm, Rep. Snowe and Deputy Min. Fahngon were embroiled in verbal altercations that stemmed from the arrest of a staff of the Legislature identified as Kelvin Mattaldi on Fahngon’s orders.
Mattaldi, in a communication to Rep. Snowe claimed to have been detained at the Zone 3 police depot on the orders of Deputy Min. Fahngon for allegedly photographing him (Fahngon) while dancing at a nightclub. He also claimed that his phone was taken from him and he asked the lawmaker to help facilitate his release.
According to Snowe, shortly afterward, he went to the police station to inquire and sign for Mattaldi, but his request was denied by the assigned police officer on grounds that Fahngon had instructed them not to release Mattaldi.
Base on the police’s information, Snowe explained that he called Fahngon and asked him to “kindly come to the police station with Mattaldi’s phone and release him from custody.”
“Since the police were acting on Fahngon’s order at that point, Fahngon began raining insults at me, barring me from calling him about Mattaldi’s phones because it was in the possession of the National Security Agency (NSA), and that he would come back to the police station to ensure that the police do not release the staff,” Snowe said in the lawsuit.
Background
Following the incident that Rep. Snowe alluded to in the lawsuit, series of videos went viral on social media the next day showing Deputy Minister Fahngon raining invectives at Snowe and Rep. Acarous M. Gray, who had come with the intention to calm down the situation.
Fahngon was later summoned by the House of Representatives and declared a non-governmental material and sentenced to prison for two days for legislative contempt and proven misconduct against the House of Representatives. In addition, the House’s plenary fined him L$4,999.99.
In an unprecedented event that was filled with drama, it took plenary more than eight hours to arrive at the decision that was witnessed by cross-section of citizens including both supporters and sympathizers of the Deputy Minister and the Legislature.
He was handcuffed and escorted to the Liberia National Police Headquarters’ detention cell where he spent the night and was taken to the notorious Monrovia Central Prison to serve his sentence the next morning.
It can be recalled that two days later, he was given a heroic welcome from prison by his supporters and later address a news conference where he apologized to the House of Representatives and the public for his unwholesome behavior.
However, within less than two weeks, Fahngon filed a lawsuit against members of the House of Representatives – claiming punitive and general damages in the tone of US$2.5 million.
In his lawsuit, he claimed that the House’s decision to detain him was a display of naked abuse of power that underestimated legislative functions and duties of the first branch of government.
“The damage I suffered at the hands of people who called themselves Representatives of the people is irreparable and unjustifiable to me and my family by creating mental anguish, psychological torture, humiliation, embarrassment, and inconvenience,” he condemned.