Monrovia – Friends and supporters of Representative Munah Pelham-Youngblood were struggling to confirm information about her being alive on Monday evening after speculation heightened that the lawmaker had died while receiving medical treatment out of the country.
Report by Alpha Daffae Senkpeni, [email protected]
The home of the Montserrado County, District Nine lawmaker in Sinkor, Monrovia was flooded with supporters and friends, who sought clarity from her mother and other relatives, and they were told that the information about her death was fake.
Family sources confirmed to FrontPage Africa that the news of her demise was “a big lie”, adding that the lawmaker was still in direct communication with her mother and other relatives.
A friend of Hon. Pelham-Youngblood said although the lawmaker was seeking treatment in India, for individuals to begin spreading fake news about her death was “utter evil.”
Meanwhile, a social media post from the office of the lawmaker also reacted to the speculation: “The office strongly clarifies that Honorable Youngblood is doing well and that the statement is untrue.”
The lawmaker’s office claims that “fake news” is a negative propaganda intended to weaken the popularity of the Coalition for Democratic Change (CDC) lawmaker in her constituency, but added that she is “highly loved in the district and even beyond Liberia’s territorial boundary.”
The Facebook post also accused a rival representative candidate in the 2017 election of masterminding the dissemination of the “fake death news” and the individual is holding meetings for the conduct of a by-election in the district.
However, the office of the lawmaker did not mention the name of the individual it claims to be behind the disinformation.
Meanwhile, Hon. Youngblood’s family or her office has not officially provided an update on the status of her health condition.
She has been reportedly ill since mid-April and was flown out of the country to seek advanced medical care.