Dear Readers,
Last week I notified Mr. Gesler Murray, Minister of Lands, Mines & Energy about a threat on my life by an employee at the ministry. Minister Murray requested that I make an official complaint to his office. For the sake of transparency, I am sharing here for the record – and Posterity.
April 19, 2020
Mr. Gesler E. Murray
Minister, Lands, Mines & Energy
Republic of Liberia
Dear Mr. Gesler,
Hope this message finds you well.
Please consider this as an official complaint against Mr. Donald C. Wesseh, an Administrative Agent at the Ministry of Lands, Mines and Energy.
The complaint regards what I see as a serious threat on my life emanating from a social media chatroom in which Mr. Wesseh suggests that “The George Weah government wasting time, they should kill this guy long time.”
Mr. Minister as you may or may not be aware, prior to his recent passing, Journalist Zenu Miller of OK FM complained publicly on the social medium Facebook, of chest pain allegedly inflicted by officers of the Executive Protective Services in late January during the Annual County Meet Football Tournament.
“All Public Officials and Employees of Government shall exhibit good conduct at all times, both at work and off-duty. He or she shall be honest, faithful and just, and shall not act in a manner against the honor or dignity of the public service.”
Code of Conduct, Republic of Liberia
It was not until after his passing that the head of the EPS commented, declaring that he was never a witness to the alleged attack on Mr. Miller.
This is why I am not taking Mr. Wesseh’s utterances lightly.
Mr. Minister, as you are aware, the Code of Conduct of the Republic of Liberia requires all officials and public servants to exhibit moral principles, dealing with values relating to human conduct, with respect to the rightness and wrongness of certain actions and to the rights and wrongs of the motives and ends of such actions.
PART IV, covering constitutional, civic responsibilities, professionalism and maintaining dignity of the public services in the COC is clear:
“All Public Officials and Employees of Government shall exhibit good conduct at all times, both at work and off-duty. He or she shall be honest, faithful and just, and shall not act in a manner against the honor or dignity of the public service.”
Section 4.4 requires “All Public Officials and Employees of Government shall fully support and effectively implement government policies and programs on affirmative actions designed in favor of vulnerable and physically challenged persons or groups marginalized on the basis of gender, age, disability or any other reason created by history, tradition or custom, for the purpose of redressing imbalances which exist.”
Part III, Section 3.8 states: Every Public Official and Employee of Government shall respect the human dignity and human rights of all persons without discrimination on the basis of race, sex, marital status, nationality, ethnic or national origin, physical, intellectual or other impairment on religious or political conviction or ideology.”
Additionally, Section 3.9 covering discipline, states: “All Public Officials and Employees of Government shall adhere strictly to the Standing Orders of the Civil Service, this Code of Conduct, other professional codes of conduct, and any other laws or policies, and shall also ensure that his or her subordinates do the same, and shall obey all lawful instructions issued to them by their superiors.”
Additionally, Section 3.13 on Professionalism states: All Public Officials and Employees of Government shall adhere to this Code of conduct and all other professional codes of conduct, and demonstrate a high degree of competence, and standards required by his or her given profession.”
It is clear Mr. Minister that Mr. Wesseh has crossed the line.
In March 2019, President George Manneh Weah signed the press freedom act named after journalist Kamara Abdullah Kamara abolishes criminal defamation.
In recent months, many media stakeholders have called for the practical application of the law, without manipulations to dilute the good intention so that professionalism will be exhibited by journalists in deepening democracy and human rights in Liberia.
Mr. Minister, Liberia has a long history of mysterious killings and deaths. In recent months, a series of unexplained deaths in Liberia have left many puzzled and unsure about motives.
In March 2019, Mathew J. Innis, Deputy Director for Micro-finance in the Central Bank of Liberia’s Regulation and Supervision Department died in a mysterious hit-and-run accident.
Innis is said to have been just about the only staff member of the CBL who had openly expressed opposition to the manner in which the US$25 million mop-up exercise was being handled outside regular and conventional banking procedures and practices.
Also, the death of Super FM journalist Tyron Browne in April 2018 took many by surprise.
In January 2016, Liberians woke up to the news of the mysterious death of Mr. Harry A. Greaves, Jr., former Managing Director of the Liberia Petroleum Refining Company (LPRC), whose naked body was discovered early Sunday morning, January 31, 2016, on the beach behind the old Ministry of Planning and Economic Affairs on Capitol Hill, Monrovia.
To date, no one in Liberia has been able to find out how or why Michael Allison, a prominent lawyer and whistleblower lost his life in February, 2015.
Like Mr. Greaves, the body of Cllr. Allison who reportedly had a role to play in the investigation involving Mr. Alex Tyler, the speaker of the Liberian House of Representatives, was found on South Beach, 5th Street.
Cllr. Allison, like Mr. Greaves have become casualties of a nation notorious for controversial investigative conclusions of “No Foul Play” in high-profile deaths.
President Weah has repeatedly spoken of his support for free speech and free press.
When he was sworn in as Liberia’s new president in January 2018, President Weah affirmed his commitment to freedom of expression, saying: “We could not have arrived at this day without our voices been heard loudly, and all our views, no matter how critical, being freely expressed in an atmosphere void of intimidation and arrest.”
“Failure on your part to look into this matter will not only be unjust but could prompt many to the draw the conclusion that the Weah administration tolerates, encourages and gives the greenlight to employees of government to go after critical media with threats to kill.”
Nevertheless, the government has in recent months cracked down on critical media, thereby diminishing the gains made after the repeal of harsh media laws that saw journalists suffer excessive jail sentences and fines.
This is why it is important for you, as head of a government ministry to look into this matter with urgency and seriousness.
As my safety as a journalist is always at stake, I hope that your ministry will forward Mr. Wesseh’s threats which is a clear breach of the code of conduct – “All Public Officials and Employees of Government shall exhibit good conduct at all times, both at work and off-duty. He or she shall be honest, faithful and just, and shall not act in a manner against the honor or dignity of the public service.”
Failure on your part to look into this matter will not only be unjust but could prompt many to the draw the conclusion that the Weah administration tolerates, encourages and gives the greenlight to employees of government to go after critical media with threats to kill.
I am also interested in knowing and hearing from Mr. Wesseh, through an investigation, the origin and motives for such a statement. “Is it something that has been discussed in government circles? Did someone in government instruct him to make such an evil utterance?
If that seems farfetched, I will also be exploring other options including a civil lawsuit in a court of competent jurisdiction.
I wish no such evil on anyone. Neither do I wish it upon myself to have a mysterious killing happening to me when I am no longer around to speak for myself.
If such a threat was made, if anyone in this government is harboring such ideas, if Mr. Wesseh somehow heard it from someone, Liberia and the world needs to know – at least while I am alive – and not when I am laying in my grave showered in a sea of whodunnits and another victim of yet another unsolved Liberia mystery.
More importantly, I am worried about the unknown – and how far Mr. Wesseh – or his likes would go to appease the powers that be – even if they may or may not be in the know of such evil intent.
CC: Hon. Nathaniel McGill, Minister of State
Hon. Lenn Eugene Nagbe, Minister of Information, Culture Affairs and Tourism,
Hon. Frank Musah Dean, Minister of Justice, RL
The Committee to Protect Journalists
Please find Attached screenshots of Mr. Wesseh’s threats.