Monrovia – Activist Leroy Archie Ponpon, the man who self-immolated himself at the grounds of the Temple of Justice has for the first-time expressed neglect by his family after he set himself ablaze in protest for salaries.
Ponpon, after leading several protests on November 2, 2020 set himself ablaze at the grounds of the Temple of Justice in reaction to the alleged refusal of Chief Justice Francis Korkpor to settle several months of salary arrears of the staff of the Temple of Justice.
It is a year now and Ponpon, for the first time has been honored by the Center for the Intellectual Freedom, an intellectual center on Carey, for his advocacy role in play in the country.
Speaking after receiving the honor, Ponpon said the pros and cons of his debate do not matter at the moment. What matters, he says is, people who should have been there neglected him.
“What happened to me tells me the deep secret of life. My family including my own children left me alone. Many days, I wept,” Ponpon said.
He added: “Partnership and relationship have let me down. On my way to the wedding house, I was told that –we cannot marry you again. My children were all taken away from me on the basis of my action, I was alone.”
Despite neglect from family, Ponpon praised his colleagues, mostly who are the members of the intellectual centers around the country for their supports during his tragic incident.
“I am not alone because I have a family not biologically, thanks to my colleagues,” he said.
Adding up, Ponpon termed himself as exceptional, adding that his life is a calling and not meant to be understood
“What I want to tell you is that there are exceptional people in this world. Chicken cannot fly but it is a bird. Do not ask God why something is not meant to be understood and do not fight to understand it today that am being honored haven wanted to kill myself –self-immolate but then it was God,” he said.
Ponpon continues: “I got rescued on the basis of hunger strike. I provided the argument for gays to believe in themselves and live their sexual orientation. The crowd came upon me I went and self-immolate on the basic that justice must be given. At the end of the day, all have just taken God to rescue from these kinds of terrible situations I passed through.”