Monrovia – On the heels of recent unfavorable incidents on Capitol Hill and at the Capitol Building – seat of the Liberian Legislature, the National Civil Society Council of Liberia (NCSCL) has strongly condemned the incidents and is seeking speedy probe.

Two terrible incidents have resulted in fear gripping Liberians regarding the peace and security of the state.

It can be recalled that under the rising sun of Tuesday’s morning, December 17, 2024, protesters under the banner: “Concerned Citizens for the Protection of Our Constitution, Democracy, and the Rule of Law” stormed Capitol Hill to agitate against several counts of bad governance, hardships and fragrant disregard to the rule of law.

But while in their attempt forcibly to enter the Capitol Building Compound, they (protesters) were greeted by stiff resistance from the riot unit of the Liberia National Police (LNP) – the Emergency Response Unit (ERU), who reportedly returned their action with teargas, live bullets and pepper spray.

Most terribly, the Capitol Building during the early morning hours of Wednesday, December 18, 2024 was gutted by fire or set ablaze – a second in a series since the ongoing power struggle within the House of Representatives.

On the heels of the growing waves of violence, the Council immediately issued a statement signed by its Chairperson Madam Loretta Alethea Pope-Kai to detest both incidents.

NCSCL pointed out that violence should absolutely have no space in Liberian society irrespective of whatever political disagreements, as such is counterproductive to peace and security of the state.

The Council noted that these uncivilized acts of violence must be condemned by all well-meaning Liberians regardless of one’s political affiliation, tribal line or religious backgrounds.

“The National Civil Society Council of Liberia condemns in the strongest terms, recent developments on Capitol Hill – from the violent protest to the burning of the Capitol Building. We condemn the acts of lawlessness orchestrated by some Liberians who had sought to undermine the essence of the peaceful protest. The Council at the same time condemned the action of the police for using excessive force on these unarmed civilians. Even if they were hostile in the process, the reported use of live bullets, teargas and pepper spray was far more excessive by the police, who are clothed with the responsibility to save lives.”

“At the same time, the National Civil Society Council detests the burning of the Capitol Building allegedly by known individuals. This is scary; it undermines our peace and security and our flourishing democracy. We call on Liberians of all walks of life to join us in condemning this uncivilized act of violence. This should have no space in our democracy.”

Meanwhile, the Council has called for an independent and speedy investigation to be launched into the two different fracas so as to bring the would-be perpetrator(s) to justice.

In a related development, the Chairperson of the Council Madam Pope-Kai is

calling on President Joseph Nyuma Boakai Sr., to exercise wisdom and take total

leadership of the country.

Though the Liberian Chief Executive has mandated the Justice Ministry through Minister Oswald Tweh to launch an immediate probe to bring the perpetrator(s) to book, the Council’s Chairperson in an open letter to the President, echoed her voice to Liberian leader to match his words with deeds by leaving all stones unturned in ensuring that such investigation is done in a more timely manner.

“This is scary for the country and this other investigation should not be a business as usual. The President needs to be more proactive by ensuring that everything is done in time so that would-be perpetrator(s) will be brought to book to account for their action.

She asserted that the President of Liberia holds a pivotal role in addressing these challenges and steering the nation towards a path of reconciliation and progress, and as such in the face of a deeply divided society, it is imperative that the President exercises wisdom in decision-making and governance.

This, she said, entails a commitment to inclusivity, transparency, and dialogue, as well as a willingness to listen to diverse perspectives and prioritize the common good over personal or political interests.

“A nation with a history of division and strife, the importance of wise and thoughtful governance cannot be overstated. The country is facing significant challenges, with deep divisions among its people and political representatives. In such a complex and fragile environment, the need for leadership that governs with wisdom and foresight is crucial for promoting unity and stability.”

“The President of Liberia holds a pivotal role in addressing these challenges and steering the nation towards a path of reconciliation and progress. In the face of a deeply divided society, it is imperative that the President exercises wisdom in decision-making and governance. This entails a commitment to inclusivity, transparency, and dialogue, as well as a willingness to listen to diverse perspectives and prioritize the common good over personal or political interests.”

According to her, wisdom in governance also requires a deep understanding of the historical and social context of Liberia, acknowledging past injustices and addressing the root causes of division and conflict.

By promoting reconciliation, respect for human rights, and the rule of law, the CSO Council head maintained that the President must work towards healing the wounds of the past and fostering a sense of national unity and cohesion.

“Furthermore, governing with wisdom entails promoting good governance practices, accountability, and effective institutions that can earn the trust and confidence of the Liberian people. By upholding the principles of democracy, transparency, and integrity, the President can build a foundation for sustainable development and prosperity for all citizens.”

“The challenges facing Liberia demand leadership that governs with wisdom and vision. By prioritizing unity, reconciliation, and good governance, the President can help bridge the divides that threaten the nation’s stability and progress. Through inclusive and transparent leadership, Liberia can overcome its divisions and build a future of peace, prosperity, and unity for all its people.”

Despite many Liberians both home and abroad deeming the appointment as inexpedient, the group opined that the appointment was a laudable decision by the outgoing President.

Among other things, CSNL added that the country’s current justice minister is one of Liberia’s respectable legal minds and experienced public servant, whose achievements and academic credentials make him best suited to serve as one of the Associate Justices of the Honorable Supreme Court.

Since the statement was released by the CSNL on January 1, 2024, some Liberians in some quarters of the society have misunderstood the difference between the two organizations with some taking the CSOs umbrella organization (NCSCL) to task on Facebook for bad advocacy.

But on the heel of this mistaken identity, NCSCL has issued a disclaimer to set the record straight that it has at no time expressed support for any politician to be confirmed by the Liberia Senate.

“We have not and we will not do so because this is none our concern to do that. In fact, when the nomination was made, we condemned the President’s decision on ground that it was lawful but not expedient. So how come could have come again to support the same process that we had earlier criticized,” said the statement signed by Madam Loretta Alethea Pope-Kai, Chairperson of the Council.

“The National Civil Society Council is a reputation and we will always fight to maintain this reputation – we will reduce our organization to a praise singing group to gain cash transfer from politicians or government. It is our commitment to remain neutral but keep society feet to the fire; this we will do without fear or favor,” the Council asserted.

MONROVIA – To address the staggering number of 114,639 invalid votes which represented 5.88 percent of the total votes, the National Civil Society Council of Liberia (NCSCL) has pledged its patriotic support to the National Elections Commission (NEC) to buttress in the area of Civic Voters’ Education (CVE) across the country.

The presidential run-off, which is scheduled for November 14, is between President George Manneh Weah of the Coalition for Democratic Change (CDC) and former Vice President Joseph Nyuma Boakai of the main opposition Unity Party (UP).

The run-off is triggered by the failure of the two main candidates to satisfy Article 83(b) of the Liberian Constitution. Article 83(b) of the Liberian Constitution – organic law of the country states that: “All elections of public officers shall be determined by an absolute majority of the votes cast. If no candidate obtains an absolute majority in the first ballot, a second ballot shall be conducted on the second Tuesday following. The two candidates who received the greatest numbers of votes on the first ballot shall be designated to participate in the run-off election.”

According to the Commission, President Weah of the ruling CDC obtained 804,087 amounting to 43.83 percent of the total votes, while main opposition leader Boakai of the UP got 796,961 votes representing 43.44%, according to tallied results from 100% of polling places.

And so, with the 20 political parties, most specifically the two forerunners, falling short of Article 83(b) of the Liberian Constitution, NEC on Tuesday, October 24, 2023, declared a presidential run-off between President Weah of the CDC and Mr. Boakai of the UP.

The October 10 process did not only result in a run-off; it also produced the highest number of invalid votes ever with rural Liberia producing the most. This has prompted the CSO Council, which is the apex body of all civil society organizations in the country, to announce the decision to complement the effort of the NEC in creating CVE awareness.

But in so doing, the Council has craved upon the Commission to share some of the invalid ballots with her (Council) to enable the Council to properly design CVE messages leveraging common mistakes by providing the needed information to the public ahead of the pending Presidential Run-off election in an attempt to curb the high number of invalid votes.

NCSCL in a statement issued at the weekend under the signature of Chairperson Madam Loretta Alethea Pope-Kai, pointed out that the need for CVE must be considered by the NEC as a key priority, and as such, the CSOs’ umbrella body is willing to contribute its quota to the national process.

“From what was reported by the NEC in the just ended 2023 Presidential and Legislative Elections, the numbers constituting invalid votes are appalling and so the issue of CVE must be treated as a matter of urgency. Therefore, the National Civil Society Council takes this time to urge the National Elections Commission and its partners; both local and international, to boost the effort of CVE ahead of the November 14 Presidential run-off election,” said the Council.

“This needs to be done across the country and all sectors using different platforms and approaches to touch base with every Liberian including marginalized groups. As a Council, we are willing to offer our service to buttress this initiative, but we are calling on the Commission to share some of those invalid ballots with us so that we can in turn give the people  clearer picture of what constitutes invalid while providing the awareness,” NCSCL furthered.

At the same time, in a bid to ensure the peacefulness of the ensuing process, the Council urges the CDC and UP to control their respective zealots in line with the Farmington River Declaration.   

NCSCL maintains that this will further help to avoid the recurrence of the violent clashes that ensued during the general process including the bloody clashes between supporters of the CDC and All Liberia Coalition Party (ALCOP) and the Foya incident between the CDC and UP, both of which resulted to the loss of lives, injuries and damages of properties.

“Liberia is the only nation that we, as Liberians, have to live. As we head towards the last crucial democratic process, the joint security, including the CDC and UP must take charge of the peace and security of this country, which is above all else.”

The Council also called on the joint security and NEC to investigate allegations of voter card buying by the CDC in counties such as Nimba, Bong, Lofa, and Gbarpolu.

Also, in the same vein, the Council wants NEC to carry out early preparation for the November 14 process by endeavoring to transport all sensitive and non-sensitive materials to the various polling precincts and places in a timely manner.

“If possible, these materials should be protected against damage and additional costs, especially in cross-river communities. The NEC temporal staff managing the elections at the various polling precincts and polling places should be given the needed incentives timely to be more committed to this national duty,” NCSCL added.

In the wake of another damaging image for the country regarding the latest report of arrest of drugs at the Roberts International Airport (RIA), the National Civil Society Council of Liberia (NCSCL) has called on the government to leave no stone unturned in conducting an independent and impartial investigation.   

FrontPage Africa Newspaper, Liberia’s leading local daily newspaper, reported online on late Sunday evening September 10, 2023 and in its hard copy of its Monday’s edition of September 11 that Samuel Freeman, the Security Manager at RIA was arrested and is currently under investigation for his alleged involvement in an attempt to transport several boxes suspected of containing contraband directly from the tarmac, using an unauthorized gate at the airport.

Located in Unification Town, Margibi County, RIA is the country’s only international airport.

As reported by the local media outlet, the management of RIA confirmed the interception of the boxes by officers of the Armed Forces of Liberia (AFL) assigned at the airport.

The paper also reported the boxes were being transported in a minibus and were escorted by Mr. Freeman, who informed the AFL officers that the consignment belonged to President George Weah’s Chief of Protocol, Ms. Nora Finda Bundo; however, Madam Bundo vehemently denied ownership of the boxes when she was contacted by the management of the airport.

Owing to the suspicious nature of the boxes, they were turned over to Liberia Revenue Authority (LRA) for investigation.

“Investigations into the attempted smuggling are ongoing, and we anticipate that further details will emerge shortly,” Mr. Danicius Kaihenneh Sengbeh, Communications Manager at the LRA, confirmed to FrontPageAfrica that Customs is in possession of the suspicious boxes.

On the heel of what seems to be another national embarrassment, the CSO Council, which is the apex body of all civil society organizations in the country and lead neutral voice of the society, in a statement issued under the signature of its Chairperson, Madam Loretta Alethea Pope-Kai, urged the government to conduct an unbiased investigation by ensuring that whosoever involved irrespective of status in society is brought to book.

The Council pointed out that this fresh allegation of drugs importation must be taken very seriously, as this is dangerous news for a country heading for one of the most crucial elections in history. 

In so doing, the Council is also recommending the hiring of independent investigators to handle the matter into the damaging saga.

“Considering our most recent experience, the National Civil Society Council of Liberia (NCSCL) is calling on the Government of Liberia to hire the service of independent investigators to work along with government’s own intelligence to handle the matter. This is a situation of high magnitude because the frequency of drugs entering our country through our major ports of entries is scaring. This other matter should not be taken lightly because it poses serious threats to our electioneering process, because we cannot discuss elections without talking about peace; hence, the issue of drugs has the propensity to undermine any peaceful process. We are concerned about the electoral process because we are concerned about the peace of this country. Therefore, we are calling for an in-depth investigation into this matter void of partiality and manipulation,” said the statement.

“For too long, we have watched cases of similar magnitude treated with lip-service and lope warmness by the Government at the detriment of ensuring justice. We are calling on the Government of Liberia to make the world see us as serious people who are committed to upholding the rule of law. We want to see this matter reach a logical conclusion and justice would be served regardless of who is involved. This is not the time for this and it should not be treated as business as usual. Just few months ago, the government lost a landmark case involving the importation of US$100 million worth of drugs case. The outcome of this US$100 million worth of drugs case was undesirable in spite of the preponderance of evidence,” the statement furthered.

In a bid to bring more credibility to the legal process, NCSCL is also appealing to the United States Government through its embassy near Monrovia, the European Union and ECOWAS to take keen interest in this matter so that would-be perpetrators would be brought to book to face the full weight of the law.

At the same time, NCSCL has called on the public against politicizing the matter and follow the legal process. 

The Council warned everyone involved to refrain from politicizing it since the ultimate desire of all Liberians and the international community is to get to the nitty-gritty of the matter.

“Members of the press, the National Civil Society Council of Liberia is seriously concerned about this latest allegations of drugs entering our country, especially just few months after the arrest of biggest arrest of hugest ever consignment of narcotic substance in our country. At the same time, we also call on the public to refrain from politicizing it since the ultimate desire of all Liberians and the international community is to get the fact in this matter regardless of who is involved,” added the statement.

It could be recalled that in September of last year, the joint security intercepted US$100 million worth of cocaine concealed in a frozen food container. The cartel reportedly infiltrated the Maersk shipping line and had the cocaine packaged with frozen goods. The seizure by the Liberia Drug Enforcement Agency (LDEA) and the Liberia National Police was made possible through a tip-off by the American Embassy in Monrovia.

Four suspects were, namely; Malam Conte, Adulai Djibril Djalo, Makki Admeh Issam, and Oliver A. Zayzay were linked but two of them were arrested on the scene and tried. The court then acquitted them on grounds of insufficient evidence, a ruling many foreign partners, including former U.S. Ambassador to Liberia, Michael McCarthy, expressed serious opposition to.

“While I’m cautious about making judgments about jury decisions, and I acknowledge that I don’t have access to all the case details or defense arguments, I sincerely hope that this doesn’t convey a perception of weakened enforcement against international criminal cartels.”

“From an outsider’s viewpoint, it is disconcerting that convictions could not be secured in Liberia, especially when the evidence appeared overwhelmingly compelling. Additionally, I am apprehensive about what these developments might signify for Liberia’s justice system, which has received substantial support from the United States Government in terms of capacity development over the years.”

Ambassador McCarthy’s remarks come in the aftermath of the Ministry of Justice’s unsuccessful attempt to persuade the Supreme Court to halt Criminal Court ‘C’ from enforcing the jurors’ verdict in favor of defendants Malam Conte, Adulai Djibril Djalo, Makki Admeh Issam, and Oliver A. Zayzay through a writ of prohibition

MONROVIA – Owing to the critical nature of the pending 2023 Presidential and Legislative Elections to the nation’s peace and stability, the National Civil Society Council of Liberia (NCSCL) is urging the Liberian government to provide the remaining amount of funding needed for the conduct of the elections.

In execution of Article 77(b) of the Liberian Constitution, eligible Liberian voters will go to the poll on October 10 elect a President/Vice President, 73 Representatives and 15 Senators with the two former steering the affairs of the state for the next six years and the latter for nine years. In those elections, President Weah, standard bearer of the ruling Coalition for Democratic Change (CDC) will contest against 18 opposition candidates for the presidency.

The ensuing 2023 elections are being squarely supported by the Government of Liberia (GoL), hence, NCSCL, which the apex body of all CSOs in the country, in a statement pointed out that domestic financing of elections is a must and as such there should be no excuse for providing the full amount needed ensure a free and peaceful conduct of all the remaining processes.

It can be recalled that the Chairperson of NEC, Madam Davidetta Brown-Lassanah, while appearing before full plenary of the Liberian Senate recently, pleaded for the remaining US$3M plus.

Madam Brown-Lassanah, who disclosed that the government has provided a little over US$49M to the Commission for the conduct of the October 10, 2023 Elections, maintained that the remaining US$3M plus is needed to conduct possible run-off elections.

She pointed out that the amount so far disbursed by the government represents 80 percent of the US$53M budget requested.

“The Commission needs the balance of a little over three million dollars to conduct possible run-off elections,” said the NEC boss.

Accordingly, on the account of the Commission’s latest disclosure, NCSCL is calling on the Liberian government through the Ministry of Finance and Development Planning (MFDP) to do the needful by providing the remaining 20 percent so that the country would have a smooth electoral process. 

As part of its roles and responsibilities to the Liberian society, the Council vowed to thoroughly observe the entire electoral process – pre and post electoral activities including financing among others that have the propensity of undermining the credibility of the entire process if not provided.

“Domestic financing of elections is a must! No excuse! MFDP needs to transfer the remaining 3 million plus, which they have promised to do. We are observing the space,” stated the statement captured under the signature of Chairperson Madam Loretta Alethea Pope-Kai.

“This is the first elections without support of UNMIL and while the UN is providing electoral support, the Government of Liberia is primarily responsible for electoral financing,” it added.