Monrovia – In an unusual mild voice, the young mayor of the City of Monrovia, Jefferson Koijee said, “I feel severe pain in my neck. It really hurts; it’s God who spared my life. It was a very serious accident.”
Report by Lennart Dodoo, [email protected]
Koijee over the weekend survived a tragic car accident on the Totota-Bong highway, while heading for the celebration of International Day of the African Child in Gbarnga.
His official vehicle (Nissan Patrol V8) collided with a taxi and summersaulted four times.
“The doors could not open. It was the community people who came to my rescue. They had to burst the back windshield to be able to get me out. That was the only way I could have gotten out of the car,” Koijee told FrontPageAfrica.
Fortunately, no severe casualty was recorded; his driver remains in a good condition, while the driver and passengers of the taxi his vehicle collided with sustained minor injuries and have been discharged from the John F. Kennedy Memorial Hospital in Monrovia.
“I’m very grateful to the almighty God. Not many people survive this kind of accident. The community people also did very well. I’m grateful to them,” he emphasized.
Shortly after the accident, messages of speedy recovery to him flooded social media, but Koijee did not win the sympathy of the entire public. He was also lambasted for allegedly driving drunk and damaging government’s valuable asset. There were also reports that he was traveling with US$22,000 which disappeared after the accident.
But Koijee wondered why his accident would be politicized and be used to malign his character.
“I don’t travel with money. What will I be doing with such amount on me? I don’t drink, I don’t smoke, I don’t womanize; I don’t know why people would say I was drunk driving when I was not even the one driving the car. It was an accident,” he said.
Prior to becoming Mayor of Monrovia, Koijee served as the chairman of the ruling Coalition for Democratic Change youth league.
He’s one of the many youth appointed by President George Manneh Weah.
His appointment came with a lot of mixed reactions, many of which spanned on his lack of experience for the job.
He replaced Madam Clara Doe-Mvogo who served as Mayor of Monrovia from 2014 to 2017.