Monrovia – A group of soldiers from the Armed Forces of Liberia, who went on the rampage in the Slipway and Crown Hill communities Thursday, rampaging homes and injuring residents, will face the full weight of the Uniform Code of Military Justice, Chief of Staff Major General Prince C. Johnson III, told FrontPageAfrica.
Eyewitnesses told FrontPageAfrica that the incident which started around 6:30 pm saw soldiers in two pickup trucks instilling fear in the community as residents ran to save their lives.
The soldiers entered the home of a woman pulled her outside and inflicted bodily harm.
The incident comes barely a week after President George Manneh Weah declared a three-week state of emergency beginning April 10 to curb the spread of the coronavirus.
Under the State of Emergency all 15 counties are quarantined from 11;59pm, Friday, April 10 until further notice.
Movement between counties is strictly prohibited; no person shall be permitted to enter or leave the borders of any county to another county except for Montserrado County and Margibi County which are quarantined as a single unit.
“We will investigate tomorrow. I need more information for my military police to conduct further investigation. For now, the commander for tonight patrol has been called to report to base for investigation. Trust me, they will face the full weight of the UCMJ. I have sent AFL Medic to treat the lady while the patrol commander was detained.”
Major General Prince C. Johnson II, Chief of Staff, AFL
Also, all residents within the borders of Montserrado County, Margibi County, Nimba County, and Grand Kru are to stay at home throughout the time of the quarantine.
“Throughout this period, residents may leave home only for essential journeys like reasons of health and food which should be restricted to your local communities only and be limited to a single person per household for a maximum of one hour,” the President warned.
In Slip Way Thursday, many of the residents in the close-knit neighborhoods were sitting in front of their homes while others were inside.
Eyewitnesses were able to identify one of the attacks by the name on his uniform as Lt. L.S. Koon.
FrontPageAfrica provided the information to the Chief of Staff who immediately dispatched medics on the scene to aid those injured from the attack.
Major General Johnson said all the men involved in the attack have been recalled and undergoing investigation. “We will investigate tomorrow. I need more information for my military police to conduct further investigation. For now, the commander for tonight patrol has been called to report to base for investigation. Trust me, they will face the full weight of the UCMJ. I have sent AFL Medic to treat the lady while the patrol commander was detained.”
Under the Uniformed Code of Military Justice (UCMJ), soldiers are forbidden from engaging in attacks on civilians. Article 92 (failure to obey lawful order or regulation); Article 128 (assault); and Article 93 (cruelty and maltreatment).
The AFL has in recent time taken a zero-tolerance approach against soldiers running afoul of the UCMJ.
Last month, two soldiers – SSG Keita Musa and Cpl. Jugbe Peter were dishonorably discharged in line with Chapter 7, Section 7.7 (j) of the New National Defense Act of August 2008.
SSG. Musa and Cpl. Peter on February 22, 2020 were allegedly involved in circumstances that led to the assault, cruelty and maltreatment of a civilian, Dakia Woods in Gbarnga City, Bong County. Upon receiving this information, the AFL, as a force for good, through its Military Police Investigation Team immediately launched an investigation into the matter.
Corporal Collins will be punished in accordance with the uniform code of military justice.
Last June, the board of investigation of the Armed Forces of Liberia (AFL) found Corporal Sieh Collins guilty for a message he posted on his social media account, in which he threatened to kill people who might get on the streets on June 7 to protest in Monrovia and its environs.