MONROVIA – Mr. Rodney Sieh, Publisher of FrontPageAfrica, says in Liberia corrupt individuals, especially officials of government are glorified while whistle blowers are vilified.
Report by Lennart Dodoo, [email protected]
“When someone has documents that they are stealing money in broad daylight and they in turn call you blackmailer and they don’t have proof. Then it is a dangerous sign for our country,” Mr. Sieh said.
He spoke Thursday, December 20, 2018 when he launched his book, Journalist On Trial, in Monrovia.
Mr. Sieh and staff of FrontPageAfrica this week came under attack from some officials of government including the Finance Minister and the Minister of State with both calling the Publisher and his newspaper a “criminal entity”.
The threats came days after FPA published two major corruption related stories: one exposing how the current government approved payments totaling US$182,000 for debts incurred during the regime of jailed ex-president Charles Taylor to a company no longer existing.
FPA also reported about how the country almost lost US$32 million to fraud after Finance Minister Samuel Tweah, gave the government’s swift code to a fraudster who hacked the government’s account and was on the verge of transferring US$32 million out of the government’s account.
In reaction to the stories, Minister of State for Presidential Affairs, Nathaniel McGill, who was reported to have approved the payment the US$182,000 debt threatened legal action against Sieh and FrontPageAfrica, noting that “Rodney will go to jail”.
At the same time, Finance Minister Tweah described the publications as falsehood. He said, the publications were done out of malice since Sieh “did not succeed in extorting money from him”.
The Finance Minister further said the Coalition for Democratic Change-led government will pull together resources to “weaponize” against the media and its “untruth and falsehood” reported by the media.
But the FPA managing editor dared Tweah and the government: “I’m putting up a challenge to every radio morning show, to every Liberian anywhere in the world, if you can show any sign of blackmail, this is a modern age – text message, phone call; this is a modern age when anyone can be recorded anytime. So, if someone calls your radio station and says this person is a blackmailer, ask them do you have a text message or any sign of proof.”
He added: “The Minister of Finance came out and insult the journalists and called all sorts of names. I wonder where are we going? If these people can look at glaring instances like corruption and try to demonize the press and stop them from reporting, only God knows how far they are willing to go. This is just one document that I have published that got them running from here and there. Imagine if I publish the other one what will happen.”
Sieh called on journalists and publishers not to succumb to the “divide and rule” tactics that the government wants to apply on the Liberian media. At the same time, he questioned why the government would choose to pay debts incurred to a company that no longer exist while existing debts owe the media are still growing.
“Weaponization against the press could mean anything: it could mean continue the strategy to hit them financially; it could mean: pay agents to go on
He recalled how several Liberians were killed during regimes preceding the civil war and later because it was perceived that some of them were involved in corrupt practices.
According to him, the execution of such individuals were hailed by many Liberians who thought at the time that corruption should be condoned. He, however, lamented that in today’s Liberia, as if no lessons were learned from the past, whistle blowers are targeted by the government.
“I can confidently say that because I know what I am saying, I know what I have in my possession. But people’s lives are at stake as I speak to you. Some innocent people who don’t know what is happening may lose their jobs tomorrow or day after or next week or next month. Instead of empowering whistle blowers, we are demonizing them, and we are tracking them down and are trying to end their livelihoods. All I ask from any government is just investigate what we published,” he said.
Journalist on Trial
Attending the book launch were several dignitaries who are noted for speaking to the conscience of society included Mr. Kenneth Y. Best, Publisher of the Daily Observer Newspaper, where Rodney began his journalism; Sister Mary Laureen Browne, an astute educator, Cllr. Pearl Brown Bull, a famous constitution lawyer with over three decades of experience.
Cllr. Bull remembered in the memoir for her role played in ensuring that Rodney was free from jail.
Others in attendance also are Senator of Rivergee County Conmany Wesseh and Liberian historian Rev. Emmanuel Bowier, amongst a host of others.
Making remarks, Mr. Best, an uncle to Rodney, recalled his determination rising from being a newspaper vendor to a reporter who will stop at nothing to dig out fact and report the story in a manner that made impact.
This, he said, made him (Best) to have no hesitation to recommend Rodney to the BBC when they were scouting a reporter in The Gambia.
Rev. Bowier, in his remarks, recalled the principals which he upheld when while serving as Editor-in-Chief of the New Liberia Newspaper during the era of the People’s Redemption Council.
He admonished Mr. Sieh to remain fearless and use his journalism for the greater good of society.
Peter Quaqua, former president of the Press Union of Liberia, said there’s a need for the trial that landed Sieh a 5000-year sentence to be reviewed.
He said, there are too many lessons for both the judiciary and even journalists to learn from Sieh’s landmark trial. He noted that any time a journalist is prosecuted, it must be remembered that it is the State that is often prosecuting that is why everything is being done to rid criminal libel from the book.
“To have awarded US$1.5 million to Mr. Chris Toe, I thought it defy human knowledge,” he said.
His assertion was based on a recount on the trial between former Agriculture Minister and the FrontPageAfrica Editor who wrote of some alleged corrupt act the former Agriculture Minister was involved with. The report was based on an audit finding.