Gbarnga — Bong County lawmaker Marvin Cole has defended his decision to order thugs to beat on a resident of his district over a misunderstanding in a land dispute case.
By Selma Lomax, [email protected]
The Coalition for Democratic Change (CDC) lawmaker last week watched on with relish as his sponsored thugs beat on a member of his neighborhood Joseph K. Binda, after the 46-year-old had gone to plant a cornerstone on his land.
Binda alleged while erecting the cornerstone, the lawmaker arrived on the scene and immediately ordered thugs to seize his working tools and beat on him for “obstructing his movement as an elected official.”
Binda was left dazed and bled profusely from his nose after he was smashed on his head with his own cutlass by the thugs.
And on Saturday, exactly 12 days after the incident, the District Three lawmaker, who had earlier denied during a FrontPageAfrica interview, told a crowd of supporters in Gbarnga he had no regrets for his actions. “God made me representative of District Three to conquer the evils in Bong County, and I will do that before the election approaches in October,” Rep. Cole said.
“Stop threatening me about what my actions would cause because we are in an election season, I don’t care about that. If anyone challenges me as a sitting lawmaker, I will respond. In the Bible, Jesus reacted angrily when children took a market at his house. Some “demons” don’t deserve to be advised. The flogging Binda received was a lesson to him, the next time he won’t repeat what he did,” Rep. Cole added.
Negative reactions have since trailed the lawmaker’s admittance, with residents of the county describing the incident as unfortunate and demeaning of an elected official.
Joe King, a resident of District Three, told FrontPageAfrica: “It is clearly evident that it happened right in the presence of the lawmaker. It’s utterly disgusting. There are better ways of responding to people’s actions rather than ordering thugs to beat on them.”
“For an elected representative to order the flogging of a citizen in the manner as seen from the victim’s face is very unfortunate. It should never have happened and all right-thinking residents of the district have to condemn it. It’s so demeaning.
Derrick Mator, another resident of District Three, told FrontPageAfrica: “Our lawmaker keeps doing things that will rubbish the good works he has done. It’s my hope that the man he ordered flogged will take steps to seek redress in appropriate courts.”
“Rep. Marvin Cole ordering his men to beat a peaceful resident of his district shows he’s gotten drunk with power.”
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kTV6I4dLWso
On his part, Samuel Babajuah, a representative aspirant of District Three, said the situation further portrayed the lawmaker as “brutal, primitive, and barbaric”.
“It’s extremely unfortunate that such a practice can take place in the 21st Century in this part of the world because ordering the flogging of a peaceful citizen over a land dispute is barbaric, primitive, and brutal. And this is what the lawmaker typifies.
“I have always held the view that Rep. Cole is a very lawless leader. And maybe, if he has his way, he can even become a brutal dictator. So, what we are seeing is a manifestation of those very crude tendencies that we have often talked about. And it’s very regrettable that up till this moment, he is yet to be refined, and has continued in his old ways even a few months to the end of his six-year tenure as representative of District Three.
“District Three people and Bong County at large should get ready to vote against Rep. Cole and the ruling Coalition for Democratic Change in Bong County because the lawmaker is very ‘influential’ and he negatively influences most of the terrible decisions in Bong County because of his ‘proximity’ to the presidency. There is no way the county can develop properly with people like Rep. Cole is retained as lawmaker. The crises we have witnessed under the lawmaker will continue if we allow people like him to be re-elected. I employ all residents of District Three not to vote for him,” he said.
In January 2022, it can be recalled, journalist Bettie Johnson-Mbayo and her spouse Dr. Moses Mbayo along with the principal of St. Simon Baptist school, were ordered beaten by Rep. Cole.
The three were beaten after Representative Cole questioned the parking of the journalist and spouse’s vehicle near his fence.
According to him, outside of his fence was not meant to be a parking lot for anyone.
The incident occurred when the trio went to sympathize with a friend whose father had passed in Du Port Road where Representative Cole currently resides.
When Rep. Cole approached the driveway where Dr. Mbayo’s vehicle was parked at the edge of the lawmaker’s fence, his driver asked for the doctor’s vehicle to be removed calmly.
Out of a sudden, Rep. Cole shouted, “You A** , take your vehicle from beside my fence, don’t you know who I am?”
The Doctor in return told him it was unfair for him to intrude in the discussion with insult when two drivers are discussing a civil matter.
Rep. Cole disembarked his vehicle and said he was being disrespected by the trio, therefore, he ordered thugs to beat them.
One of his workers named Ishmael, along with others, joined in a tussle with Dr. Mbayo and ripped his underwear, shirt and trousers while St. Simon Principal was also beaten, and his shirt was ripped.