Gbarnga, Bong County – Deputy Speaker Prince Moye is set to accept a petition from residents of Bong County to contest the 2020 senatorial election. Several prominent citizens of the county have been pressuring the Deputy Speaker to contest the senate race against the incumbent Senator, Henry Yallah.
Report by Selma Lomax, [email protected]
One such resident is Madam Selena Polson-Mappy, former superintendent of Bong. Polson-Mappy, who had announced her intention to contest, announced on Radio Totota last month that she was abandoning her ambition for the sake of Rep. Moye.
She described the District Two lawmaker as a humble character who would attract the dividends of democracy to Bong County when elected senator.
Since relinquishing her ambition, Polson Mappy has received commendations from citizens with many describing her decision as a “worthy venture”. Bill McGill Jones, one of Rep. Moye’s strong supporters, described Polson-Mappy as a “serious political asset” to the campaign team of the Deputy Speaker.
“Polson-Mappy has a lot of following in Bong County. Her strength is not only unique to lower Bong but the entire county. Remember she contested in 2011 and finished fourth and decided to re-contest in 2017 and she lost by over a 1,000 vote difference behind the current lawmaker, Moima Briggs. That is a great political feat that any political team would love to have,” Jones said.
Sampson Tornolah, a prominent businessman in Bong County and former transport minister in Ellen Johnson-Sirleaf’s government, is another prominent citizen who has reportedly petitioned Moye to contest the senate race.
Speaking of his support to Moye, Varpilah said the Deputy Speaker has proven beyond doubts over the years that he is a person worthy of public trust. He added: “Moye has been in the House of Representatives for the past eight years now and there has never been any allegation of corruption. That, in itself, has made me to support him.”
While Moye continues to enjoy numerous endorsements from key stakeholders of Bong, one person continues to be somewhat an access baggage to Moye’s senate ambition.
George Mulbah – a moral burden on Moye?
Mulbah appears to be a dent on whatever image he professes to the public about Moye’s ambition, according to citizens. Like Polson-Mappy and Varpilah, Mulbah has joined other key political actors in Bong to provide the platform and work out a model for Moye’s campaign in 2020.
Mulbah has formed a group the named the Moye Preparatory Committee. According to him, the formation of the group is aimed at galvanizing citizens’ views about Moye’s senatorial ambition.
According to Jeremiah Tamba, a resident of Salala District, no serious candidate who wants to tackle corruption would allow a character like Mulbah –who has been accused of mismanaging funds intended for the community college – to be the main character marketing his ambition. “I had intended to support the Deputy Speaker but the involvement of George Mulbah has made me to have a second thought,” he said.
Continuing, he added: George Mulbah’s social-political life is strewn with dirt. No serious person should trust him
“Moye should not make this mistake. Who is George Mulbah to be telling us to vote for his candidate? He has been indicted by the Ninth Judicial Circuit Court for allegations of corruption. Besides, this is not the first time he has been accused of misusing funds for the county.”
Betty McCauley, A Resident of Gbarnga.
Mulbah’s dwindling popularity
The former District Three lawmaker seems unpopular among citizens of the county largely to his alleged involvement with funds earmarked for the Bong County Technical College during his stint as chairman of the Bong Legislative Caucus.
Mulbah has been indicted by the Ninth Judicial Circuit Court in Gbarnga on multiple charges ranging from theft of property to fraud and criminal conspiracy.
Since 2017, Mulbah Mulbah’s popularity among citizens of Bong County seems to be declining considerably in the last three years, however.
“Moye should not make this mistake. Who is George Mulbah to be telling us to vote for his candidate? He has been indicted by the Ninth Judicial Circuit Court for allegations of corruption. Besides, this is not the first time he has been accused of misusing funds for the county,” said Betty McCauley, a resident of Gbarnga.
Jethro Emmanuel Kolleh, a native of Sanoyea District, said Mulbah’s record with the Bong Technical College during his stint as chairman of the county’s legislative caucus dents his integrity and has put him at odds with citizens of the county. “George Mulbah does not have the moral ground to convince anyone to support Rep. Moye’s candidacy for the senate. He is an indictee of public fund,” he said.
Tiangay Taylor, a resident of Gbarnga, said the current unfinished status of the community college owes particularly to George Mulbah. “In her reaction to a post done by Mulbah on Facebook regarding issues in the county, she writes
“Hon. Mulbah, with all due respect, when issues of corruption or issues that brought disgrace to Bong County, is on the table for discussion, is a cup of tea you should not drink from. The disgrace and underdevelopment you contributed to when you served in the Legislature for two terms; 12 solid years, cannot be over emphasized”
Hon. Moye even having you on his team, and serving as one of his brains on his 2020 senatorial bid, is the more reason we will not support Hon. Moye.
We will bring our forces together in this one Hon. Mulbah. Bad things happen when people keep quiet.”