Monrovia – The Liberian Women Forum (LWF) said it would be disappointed if President George Manneh Weah shoves the allegation of sexual exploitation against an official of his government under the carpet without ordering an investigation into the matter.
Report by Lennart Dodoo, [email protected]
The Deputy Managing Director of the Liberia Water & Sewer Corporation (LWSC), Mr. Moseray Momoh, has been accused by a lady, a mother of two, of sexually harassing, raping and exploiting her in exchange for a job at the LWSC.
The complainant (name withheld) claimed she had gone of the headquarters of the ruling Coalition for Democratic Change (CDC) to include her name on a list of partisans, who were seeking job in the new government. According to her, it was there she met Momoh, who promised to help her secure a job to enable her to send her two children to school and also enroll herself back in school.
According to women’s forum, it has been following the reports in the media, particularly FrontPageAfrica and finds the story of the young lady and the alleged action of Momoh very appalling and condemnable.
“Let it be noted that this is a young lady who is perhaps striving to make ends meet. She’s just a mother, like all other mothers, who try to seek the best means to give their children better lives. From the story we are getting, her vulnerability was taken advantage of. She was exploited. Sadly, she’s just one of several hundreds of women, who have to go through this. We applaud her for coming out and we hope this matter would be taken very seriously by President George Manneh Weah,” LWF president Kadi C. Porte said.
The women’s advocacy group said it is high time the culture of impunity when it comes to rape, especially when the alleged perpetrator is an official of government or an influential person in society, comes to an end, noting that they believe in the leadership of President Weah to act decisively on rape and other gender-sensitive issues.
Madam Porte recalled similar instance with a former member of the House of Representatives, Morais Waylee, who was accused of raping and impregnating a 13-year-old minor, who was said to be living in his house.
“To date, there has been no information on the status of the case, neither has the government told us the whereabouts of the 13-year-old and the baby, which came as a result of the pregnancy since the case was reported. Must we sit and allow this to happen to our children, young girl, and women? No! I say a big NO! Another instance was the recent gang rape of another 13-year-old in Maryland County. The victim died after the heinous crime. What is our society turning into? If we don’t act now, when would we? If the President doesn’t act now, when would he?” Madam Porte asked.
She said the Liberia Women Forum looks forward to President Weah to suspending Momoh of the LWSC for time indefinite while urging the Liberia National Police and the Ministry of Gender, Children and Social Protection to conduct a full-scale investigation into the allegation brought forth against Momoh.
“If President Weah is indeed the son of a market woman who had to raise him all by herself, then he understands what it means for a single mother to be a source of livelihood for her children,” she said.
According to the president of the Liberia Women Forum, there is no better opportunity than now for President Weah to take a strong action against rape and exploitation.
The women advocacy group further reminded Pres. Weah of his recent commitment to the Sustainable Development Goals and urged him to be a man of his words.
“When you look at Goal 5 of the SDG, it calls for gender equity and Goal 10 calls for reducing inequality. We believe that President Weah as part of his commitments to uphold the SDGs would also take seriously these goals that have direct relations to women issues, particularly in this case,” Madam Porte stated.