Monrovia – Police have charged four persons in alleged connection to the recent attack on opposition representative candidate Ms. Telia Urey in Montserrado County District #15 ahead of the National Elections Commission’s (NEC) Wednesday, August 28 scheduled re-run in six polling places in the district.
Report by Kennedy L. Yangian, [email protected]
The four persons, identified by the police are Joseph Bropleh, Prince Kollie, Willington Kumeh and Romeo Nyankun were charged with criminal mischief and theft of property after investigation into that bloody electoral violence that received condemnations from several stakeholders at home and abroad.
During the afternoon hours of Tuesday, August 27, the three were forwarded by the police to the Monrovia City Court at the Temple of Justice for prosecution but were detained at the Monrovia Central Prison by Magistrate Ernest Bana for their failure to obtain a valid criminal appearance bond.
Police claimed that the four persons were arrested on August 17, 2019 in the Logan Town Broad Street Community on the Bushrod Island when supporters of the two main contenders, Abu Kamara, the candidate of the ruling Coalition for Democratic Change (CDC) ticket and that of Ms. Urey, who is on the opposition All- Liberian Party (ALP) ticket.
According to the police, at the time of the violence, the supporters of the two candidates were involved into physical confrontations and this affected persons and properties.
The police in their charged sheet in the possession of this newspaper claimed that during their investigation with the three defendants, they initially denied their involvement but later admitted to taking part in the violence but expressed regrets for the action.
The Police further stated that their investigation findings established that on August 17, 2019 Telia Urey visited the Logan Town Community, where she attended a wedding ceremony and later decided to go over to the office of Kelvin Bayoh, a defeated candidate in the same representative by-election.
Telia Urey, according to the police, came under attack while discussing with Bayoh and that the attack was unprovoked.
“The investigation established that among those who attacked her were Defendants Joseph Bropleh, Willington Kumeh and Prince Kollie and Romeo A. Nyankun, all of whom had come from out of the fence of Mr. Abu Kamara,” claimed the police.
The Police said their investigation established that Ms. Urey sustained “the loss of personnel belongings as her Ipad was retrieved from Defendants Joseph K. Bropleh, Prince Kollie and Romeo A. Nyankun.”
From the account of an eye witness, the police added that Defendant Willington Kumeh used a cornerstone to burst the rear glass of Ms. Urey’s vehicle.
According to the police some eyewitnesses explained that some of the rioters, who started the stone throwing emerged from within the fence of Abu Kamara and he failed to prevent or advised them against the acts of violence.
“Wherefore and in view of the facts and circumstances, Defendants Kumeh, Bropleh, Kollie and Nyankun are charged with Theft of Property and Criminal Mischief, which are in violations of Sections 15 subchapter D section 15.51 of the revised Penal Code of Liberia,” said the police.