Monrovia – Series of audio and video recordings trending social media shows heated exchanges between Montserrado County District 8, Bomi County District 1 Representatives Acarous Gray and Edwin M. Snowe, respectively, and Mr. Eugene Fahngon, Deputy Minister for Press and Public Affairs at the Ministry of Information, Culture and Tourism.
Report by Bettie K. Johnson-Mbayo, [email protected]
The exchanges rose when the media liaison of the Legislative budget office, Kelvin Maltadi, allegedly took a photo of Fahngon at a local bar along the SKD Boulevard where they were all partying.
Angry Fahngon who believed his photo was taken while dancing immediately asked Maltadi to delete the photos and subsequently informed the operators of the bar to have the its securities search his phone and have the photos deleted.
The bar attendant instead called the Zone-3 Police Depot to intervene in the exchanges between the minister and Maltadi which created a standoff in the bar.
While the police were yet to arrive, Fahngon called one Caesar Teah, an agent of the National Security Agency (NSA) who later arrived at the scene with a pickup full of police officers to arrest Maltadi and his friend identified as Christopher Neufville on Fahngon’s order – they were all taken to the depot, but Neufville was later released by the police.
Police sources informed FPA that Teah and Fahngon seized Maltadi’s phone and left the depot. However, Maltadi called Rep. Snowe who later arrived at the depot and placed a call to Fahngon, but the heated exchanges between the pair could not yield any compromise. A couple of minutes later, Fahngon arrived at the depot and openly began to rain invectives on Rep. Snowe at the same time questioning his authority to demand the release of Maltadi.
The Police informed FPA that Rep. Snowe had requested the Maltadi be released to him and he would make him available the following day.
Snowe, reportedly attempted pulling Maltadi out of the police cell, but was resisted by officers.
In a series of videos, Fahngon is seen dressed in a black suit, Snowe in a white shirt with his phone in his hand, questioning Fahngon what Maltadi was doing at the depot, the whereabout of his phone and if it was lawful to have put Maltadi behind bars.
Fahngon, as seen in the video, had his fingers pointed in the face of Rep. Snowe screaming: “The phone is with the police, NSA, you are a lawmaker, the law says you can do this and you can’t do that?” telling him that as a Unity Party member, he should know the law, but Snowe responded, “We are not here for party business, this party thing has gotten to your head”.
Fahngon in response said he fought for the current regime, adding that he fought a year and a half propagating the Coalition for Democratic Change agenda.
Snowe: “You fought for what, after fighting for Benoni Urey and now Weah?”
Fahngon: “I don’t give a damn; when you were fighting for Charles Taylor did you know it, did you know it was a party called Unity Party, when you were fighting for Taylor, when you married his daughter, did you know the sh*t you were doing?
“Do I give a Fu*k about you, I’m Eugene Fahngon and I stand for justice, what do I care? Do I give a damn, you violated the law and you want to stand in front of it?
Additionally, another video shows Fahngon live on Facebook addressing Snowe as “lawbreaker and a violent lawmaker”.
In that video, Snowe is seen standing looking on, while Fahngon accused of assaulting police officers to release Maltadi from detention.
Due to the exchanges between the two public officials, police authorities requested that the case be transferred from the depot to the headquarters.
A police source told FPA that Rep. Gray later arrived at the depot to calm Fahngon down – informing him that Rep. Snowe has legislative power to request that Maltadi be released to his custody. But adamant Fahngon, being angered by Rep. Gray’s advice almost got in a fist fight with him.
Fahngon: “You will get serious, this man did something wrong, this is about the law, it was my right that was violated; I am not here for no lawmaker, I was appointed by the President.”
Fahngon threatened to flog Gray and ransacked the depot when Gray told him that he was a “pekin” (little boy) and could be fired anytime.
Gray: “This man is under the influence of alcohol. He doesn’t even know that you can’t say you are not here for lawmaker business. Who are you? Don’t you know I have oversight over you? You being disrespectful to the lawmaker; this ‘pekin’ is being disrespectful. I don’t blame you’re a**.”
Fahngon responded that he is a presidential appointee and cares less about a lawmaker, adding that he was disrespected.
Fahngon to Gray: “I am older than you and you went to school with my wife, stupid a**, I will beat the sh*t out of you.”
Early Saturday morning, the Unity Party (UP) issued a release condemning Fahngon’s action.
The UP release stated that Snowe as a member of the first branch did not do anything to warrant the insults and near physical assault from another member of government.
“We think the action by Eugene Fahngon brings the Ministry of Information to public disrepute and put to question his ability to execute the duties and functions of the Deputy Minister of Information for Public Affairs in refined manners should be reprimanded.”
The party’s SG Mohammed Ali said allowing such disrespect to another official of government to go unpunished will create cleavages in government that could hamper the people’s work and the government’s objectives.