Monrovia – Fingers are pointing to the Ministry of Youth and Sports (MYS) over the disturbances and disruption of the National Youth Dialogue with President George Manneh Weah at the Monrovia City Hall on Monday, July 23, 2018.
Report by J. H. Webster Clayeh, [email protected]
The program was going on when members of the Liberia National Students Union (LINSU) began to chant battle cry, trying to send a message that Mathias Yeanay, who was recognized by the Youth Ministry as the president of LINSU is not the legitimate president of the student group.
Instead, the agitated LINSU members said they recognize Varney Jersey, who was few months ago released from the Monrovia Central Prison to seek medical attention, as the constitutional president of LINSU.
The dialogue was intended for the young people to interact with the President of Liberia. While the program was ongoing, the master of ceremony called on Yeanay and that was when the jeers and protest from some agitating students began.
With members of the three branches of government present, the agitating group refused to stop their jeer and protest.
In no time, the was riot between and amongst the different factions for and against the ‘two presidents’ and the protesting group and some youth from the Coalition for Democratic Change (CDC), who never wanted their program to be stalled.
The CDC rioters ran the protesting students out of the hall. The president of the University of Liberia Students Union, Mr. Maiwo Flomo, was also attacked by the same gang who ran the protesting group out.
Flomo, the president of Federation of Liberia Youth Augustine Tamba, Amos Williams and other students were forcibly taken out of the building and put into the police car (pickup) by officers of the Liberia National Police.
Randolph Kemokai, of the press and propaganda of LINSU told FrontPageAfrica that the MYS is the cause of the disruption of the program.
“What happened at the Monrovia City Hall today was emanated by the MYS and that the Assistance Minister at the MYS Emmanuel Johnson is in the know of what is going on in the national students’ body,” Kemokai said.
He added: Minister Emmanuel Johnson is aware of these rigmaroles within the Liberian National Students Union. He urged the Acting president Mathias Yeanay to go sit on the platform knowing very well that there is a problem in the Liberia National Students Union in term of internal ranging and power struggle.
Despite acknowledging the right of the students to protest, Kemokai condemned the act of the students disrupting the National Youth Dialogue.
Our reporter, however, made attempts to talk to Minister Johnson but the Assistant Minister of Technical Service at MYS said the Ministry of Youth and Sport will response to the situation at an appropriate time.
According to sources, the MYS organizers, they had earlier met and had a meeting between the two parties within the national students’ governing body to settle the fuss within LINSU.
Our source also informed us that the MYS failed to settle the tussle but went ahead and wrote Yeanay as the president of LINSU to participate in the National Youth Dialogue with the President of Liberia.
Yeaney has been the Vice President to Jersey. But when Jersey went to prison in 2016; Yeanay immediately became the Acting President of the national student’s governing body.
This rigmarole has been in the LINSU since the temporary release of Jersey from the central prison.
After the temporary release of Jersey, Yeanay is refusing to relinquish his post something many LINSU members see as unconstitutional.