Monrovia – Women protesting the rising wave of rape cases in Liberia were greeted to stern resistance by officers of the Liberia National Police early Thursday morning.
Many who had begun assembling near the Vamoma Junction -Airfield route were turned away as they tried to assemble for the third day of protest, drawing attention to the government and raising awareness about the issue.
“They just assaulted us, saying that nobody is gathering and instructing us to go home,” said Facia Harris. “Most of the officers then began assaulting us, as a result the protesters are going into hiding.
Veda Ayele Nyoth Simpson, in a live Facebook declared: “We are unprotected, Thursday in Black”.
Madam Simpson explained: “Just for peacefully assembling, they are saying we are making Liberia ugly. This is the police that supposedly sworn to serve and protect – and instead of protecting, they are threatening, they are harassing. We have young people who are here just to speak for their rights and to talk and to talk about what’s going on in this country. Rape is an epidemic in Liberia, there needs to be a state of emergency on rape in Liberia, we are truly unprotected, if the police cannot protect us, Thursday in Black, we are unprotected.”
Police were also accused of seizing cellphones from protesters.: “He (a police officer)threatened me, if he does not give me my phone I will go to the court of law,” a protester lamented.
The protest started on Tuesday with protesters presenting a petition to the national legislature, drawing attention to what they describe as a pandemic. “We have a rape pandemic on our hands. There have been hundreds of rape cases across the country and the numbers keep climbing exponentially,” the petitioners lamented. “Our mothers and daughters are under attack daily by predators that have no fear of bearing the full weight of the law. These outrageous acts are only persisting because our justice system has been so weak that perpetrators commit these atrocities and go scot-free; because our laws have been made lax and created loopholes for these criminals to exploit.”
“Just for peacefully assembling, they are saying we are making Liberia ugly. This is the police that supposedly sworn to serve and protect – and instead of protecting, they are threatening, they are harassing. We have young people who are here just to speak for their rights and to talk and to talk about what’s going on in this country. Rape is an epidemic in Liberia, there needs to be a state of emergency on rape in Liberia, we are truly unprotected, if the police cannot protect us, Thursday in Black, we are unprotected.”
Veda Ayele Nyoth Simpson, A Protestor
In their petition, the group laid out several recommendations they believe when implemented by the Government of Liberia will help end this nightmare for the people of Liberia.
The petition from the group stated: Increase budgetary allocation in the FY 2020/2021 budget, and subsequent budgets for Criminal Court “E”; and to facilitate the strengthening of the judicial system for speedy trial of rape and other Sexual and Gender-Based Violence (SGBV) cases including the hiring of more judges to hear and determine rape and SGBV cases speedily and expeditiously.
The heavy presence of police Thursday morning comes barely 24 hours after Day Two of the protest ended in chaos after some men believed to be associates of the Monrovia City Mayor, Jefferson Koijee, allegedly disrupted the protest after forcing their way through a blockade set up by the protestors in front of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs which currently hosts the offices of President George Weah.
The City Mayor has, however, denied being associated with the disruption of the protest, noting that he is a supporter of the protest against rape.