Monrovia – The Executive Mansion Press Corps (EM Press Corps) has condemned what it termed, “unprovoked verbal attack” launched against one of its female members Dennise Nimpson by Deputy Presidential Press Secretary Smith Toby.
The group in a press conference held in Monrovia said Mr. Toby has also branded journalists covering President George Weah as ‘opposition journalists.’
“We would like to make it clear that while we, the EM Press Corps, are cognizant of the fact that it is not our job whatsoever to select our member(s) to travel anywhere with the President, except that intuitions of individual reporters choose to underwrite the associated costs, we condemn the unwarranted outburst on us by Toby as not only outrageous, insulting, pejorative, provocative, and uncivilized, but an attempt to undermine the “Feminist-in-Chief” acclamation being enjoyed by President Weah,” Cyrus Harmon, Acting Spokesperson of the Executive Mansion Reporters intoned.
E-mansion Press Corps is made up of journalists from various media institutions accredited to provide coverage of the Liberian Presidency.
Toby had accordingly asked the group to submit a name of a representative to the office of his immediate boss, Solo Kelgbeh, to travel with President Weah to the United States, to attend the United Nations General Assembly in New York.
“The Press Corps’ leader Samukai Dukuly did submit the name of Journalist Denise Nimpson. Toby then made a sudden U-turn and began jabbering unfavorable comments against our female colleagues and the entire media group.”
“Ms. Nimpson was finally rejected because Toby had labeled her and other female journalists as lazy set of people who do not take their work seriously and that he wouldn’t want any of them taken to the U.S. just to be taking pictures.”
The group furthered: “The deputy presidential spokesman was even brave to repeat such utterances in the meeting with the group following Tuesday’s press briefing at the Foreign Affairs office of the President.”
Moreover, the Executive Mansion reporters said these actions by Toby, who often “carries himself as de facto Press Secretary to the President,” are “equally detrimental and counterproductive” to the enormous efforts being exerted by President Weah’s leadership in promoting gender equity, equality, and respect for women.
Harmon further asserted: “We also consider Toby’s dangerous statement of calling us opposition journalists as having the proclivity to compromise the safety of members of the EM Press Corps because we come in contact with State security and protocol officers every time in the discharge of our journalistic duty, a call we owe to our country.”
In the meantime, journalists covering President Weah have also condemned an “act of harassment” of two of its members by the head of the General Services Agency (GSA), Madam Mary Broh.
Broh reportedly ‘insulted’ the reporters prior to the arrival of President Weah at the Ministerial Complex in Congo Town on Monday, September 16, 2019, to grace the Extraordinary Session convened by the ECOWAS Parliament.
“Before the President would arrive, our colleagues were duly screened at the first entrance by Executive Protection Service (EPS) officers but were stopped by other officers posted to the main doors to the conference hall. Eventually, Madam Broh surfaced in an uncivil manner and instructed the security to push the journalists away. Our colleagues however complied and continued to display their professional identification cards including Executive Mansion Press Pass but Broh could not stop bellowing at them condescendingly. She argued the reporters should have been at the venue as early as 4:00 A.M. as she, a sexagenarian, has done. Even though our colleagues told her that all they needed do was be there before the President; but, Broh said: “I myself will tell President Weah that you are late,” Harmon asserted in the statement.
“As the journalists keenly watched Broh woof at them—a clear deal of abuse of power—she, however, finally gave them access but not without pouring scorn on them after she saw the President disembarked his vehicle and approached the building with his entourage.”
The EM Press Corps said it sees these regressive acts on the parts of Smith Toby and Mary Broh as avenues reawakening threats against journalists in the country.
These are planned actions according to the Presidential Reporters, are intended to “hinder freedom of the press and dampen the recent steps by the Government to promote a society where journalists can carry out their duty without any form of fear or intimidation.”
The Executive Mansion Reporters, however, wants the PUL to intervene in the situation to avoid recurrence.
“As a subset of the Press Union of Liberia, we call on the PUL leadership and all others concerned to seriously take note of these occurrences with an understanding that we now work in a fragile environment at the level of the Executive Mansion, given the actions of two government officials.”
“No journalist deserves to be bullied or threatened in her/his line of duty.”