Monrovia – The Economic Freedom Fighters of Liberia has condemned the Arbitrary arrest of Mr. Menipakei Dumoe, Vice Chair of the Council of Patriot (COP) on SEDITION charges.
In a statement, the EFFL urged the government to abide by the Kamara Abdullah Kamara Act of Press Freedom and Free Speech.
“The arrest of Mr. Dumoe is a slap in the face of justice and a complete contradiction to the Table Mountain Agreement signed by former President Sirleaf in 2012 and the Kamara Abdullah Kamara bill to decriminalise FREE SPEECH submitted by President Weah in 2018. Our peace is fragile, and the government is on an arresting spree of critical voices. This is detrimental and causes national security concerns doing these hazardous times.”
The Economic Freedom Fighters of Liberia
On the 10th of May 2020, Mr. Menipakei Dumoe wrote on his Facebook page the following; “we don’t need free bags of rice. I say we the poor in Monrovia need AK47s so our leaders can take us seriously”. In another post which was intended to clarify the aforementioned, Mr. Dumoe explained that the usage of “AK47s” by Monrovians was in the context of “Resistance”.
It can be recalled that on May 31, 2018, President Weah submitted a bill that sought to amend Chapter 11 of Penal Law of 1978, repealing Sections 11.11 on criminal libel against the President; 11.12 on Sedition and 11.14 on criminal malevolence named The Kamara Abdullah Kamara Bill. This bill does not only cover “Journalist” but also those using the various media outlets.
The EFFL said the privileges given under the laws were enjoyed by members of the CDC including former warlord and current National Security Agency Operative General Power who recently called for the “FORMATION OF THE KRU DEFENSE FORCE”.
Said the EFFL: “The arrest of Mr. Dumoe is a slap in the face of justice and a complete contradiction to the Table Mountain Agreement signed by former President Sirleaf in 2012 and the Kamara Abdullah Kamara bill to decriminalise FREE SPEECH submitted by President Weah in 2018. Our peace is fragile, and the government is on an arresting spree of critical voices. This is detrimental and causes national security concerns doing these hazardous times.”
The EFFL said President Weah’s leadership is gradually transforming into a dictatorship resemblance to the pre-war era. “Our constitution which remains the superior laws of the land is being undermined by the very leaders whose responsibility is to uphold it. Our justice system has miraculously developed a selective eye which enforcement is at its peak.”The EFFL is hereby demanding the government to immediately release Mr. Dumoe and redirect their energies to tackling the unmerited hardship faced by our people doing these troubling times.