Monrovia – Amid allegations that the special taskforce set up by President George Weah to retrieve government vehicles are allegedly confiscating some private vehicles, the head of the task force, Benedict Reeves, was on Tuesday charged and held for contempt by the Monrovia City Court at the Temple of Justice.
Report by Kenney L. Yangian, [email protected]
The lower court decision to hold Reeves in contempt follows his alleged refusal to adhere to court order, which called for the release of a private vehicle the taskforce had confiscated almost a month ago.
“I was asked by the court to be here today at 9:00 am but when I got to the court one hour later due to the traffic, the Magistrate Peabody told me that I am held for contempt and should sit on the prisoner bench,” explained Reeves, who claimed that he was instructed by the magistrate not to leave the court until the car in question is surrender to the court.
While on the prisoner bench, Reeves told reporters that the car in question belongs to a Nigerian national only identified as “Right-man”.
He said that when the car was arrested by the police it was directed to the Slipway Police Depot and when the owner was asked to produce his papers for the car he refused.
This was how he directed that the car be taken and park at the compound of the Executive Mansion.
Reeves, who admitted that the vehicle in question is private, disclosed that one of the reasons the task force ran into problem was that the administration of the General Services Agency headed by Madam Mary Broh did not cooperate with his team at the start of the exercise, leaving them to operate “blindly”.
“It is unfortunate to see myself in court; I think that the people who suppose to be sitting in this court today should have been those that breached the presidential moratorium,” said Reeves.
He claims that he has a list of over 60 persons who are still in possession of government vehicles and that the task force was able to obtain the listing from the General Services Agency, adding, “Do you imagine people on this list bought government vehicle as low as US$200.00”.
According to Reeves, the work of the taskforce has been thwarted by politics as people who are affected by his work have “ganged-up to come after members of the task force”.
He, however, vowed that no amount of court actions or politics will deter the taskforce from carrying out its mandate given to it by the President.
Reeves, after being held in the courtroom from 10 Am to 4 Pm, was later released after Solicitor General, Cllr. Daku Mulbah, had pleaded with Magistrate Kennedy Peabody.
Magistrate Peabody told reporters that although Reeves is being held in contempt by the court he will not be sent to jail but will be released and re-appear at the court on next Monday morning.
Support Independent Journalism
Your support helps FrontPage Africa continue delivering independent, credible, and impactful journalism. Every contribution strengthens our ability to investigate, inform, and hold power accountable while keeping quality journalism accessible to our readers.
Support our journalism or subscribe to receive the latest FrontPage Africa stories and updates.
