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“Mob” violence hits Liberian Senate, as Senator slaps Senator

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By Our Staff Writer

The Liberian Senate, who supposed to be a “House of wise men”, could not hold a hearing of members of the national security apparatus on Thursday about why nothing was done to prevent the August 17, 2019 electoral violence in Montserrado County District # 15, because itself was engulfed in chaos.

In the Senate Chambers

That was an anger that later led to one Senator from Grand Bassa County, Nyonblee Karnga Lawrence slapping another Senator, Saa Joseph of Montserrado County and pelting him with hot water (coffee/tea) the Senate presiding officer was drinking at the door of the Senate chambers on Capitol Hill, Monrovia.

Senator Karnga-Lawrence

Electoral violence seen during and after the deadlocked Montserrado District 15 By-elections and previous By-elections in District #13 months ago are all lumped up in what is referred to as “mob” violence, something which has become a past time in communities around the country, leading to injuries and sometimes fatalities.

Just weeks ago, violence was unleashed against the Liberia National Police Deputy Inspector General for Operations, Marvin Sarkor at the headquarters of the ruling Coalition for Democratic Change (CDC) headquarter, with two top CDC officials—Monteserado Representative Acarious Gray and the party’s Chairman Mulbah Morlu being linked, according to Police Inspector General Patrick Sudue.

Also, the Chairman the National Bureau of Concessions, Gregory Coleman also recently became a victim of assault by his two deputies, who held him hostage in his office.

Before the United Nations Mission in Liberia (UNMIL) pull out of Liberia, mob violence/mob justice was top on its priority.

In a report, it said: “There is a growing concern over an upward trend in mob violence incidents over the past year in Liberia. From January to September 2013, there were 46 reported mob related instances, up from 32 in the same period in 2012. This 44% increase is particularly disturbing as these activities are seemingly more violent, with a tendency to kill victims and turn against security forces who attempt to intervene. At least 12 victims were confirmed to be killed by angry mobs, while many others sustained serious injuries requiring hospitalization.” 

One psychosocial worker intimated recently that the violence seen during elections like those in District 15 and the National Elections Commission (NEC) headquarters are just reflections of how deep-rooted this menace is in post-war Liberia, “but sadly this nation has only been addressing the symptoms and not the disease itself.”

Now back to the row that broke out in the Senate plenary on August 22, 2019. It was over the presiding officer and Chairman of the Senate Committee on Executive, Montserrado County Senator Saa Joseph’s decision to refer the grilling of the national security officials to the Senate Committee on National Security and Defense.

Sen. Saa Joseph granted a motion coming from Bong County Senator Henry Yallah who said:

“While on my feet, I move that if I can obtain a second that all of the pieces of evidences presented by the IG together with the MoJ in conjunction with what we have as some senators as exhibit should be presented to the Committee on National Defense and Judiciary, that this team appear before them, and that they do thorough investigation, and the both committees report to this plenary for plenary action,” he said.

After this motion, the Senate floor turned upside down, with heads and their deputies of national security organizations being later allowed to go.

It was after that, the Senator Lawrence who is Political Leader of the opposition Liberty Party went out of control and reportedly slapped her colleague, Sen. Joseph and pelted him with the hot water.

But in an interview with reporters later, the only female Senator in the Liberian Senate tended to justify her action by saying that she thought that was the way to vent out her anger about the way the presiding offer was handling the issue of the District 15 violence investigations/hearing.

Also after the motion to refer the hearing to the Security Committee, River Gee County Senator Conmany Wesseh, Oscar Cooper, Daniel Naatehn, Sando Johnson and Lawrence all described Senators Yallah and Joseph’s behavious as “appalling and unbelievable.”

Sen. Wesseh, who during the impeachment of former Supreme Court Justice Kabineh Ja’neh said “lawlessness” had taken over the Senate, said on Thursday:

“There are just few people, who are giving the Senate and Legislature a bad name, but we will not, those of us who call ourselves senators for constitutional justice and peace, and the good number of others will fight until the dignity of our country is restored. That, people will see this country is ripe for foreign investment in our children; our youth and everybody will have the possibility to live in peace and happiness.”

Bomi County Senator Sando Johnson, said what occurred in the Chambers did not come as a surprise.

According to him, Sen. Joseph who was presiding “railroad us and obtain a motion that would not have been done in the first place, which was cleverly done so as to bring the entire Senate to public ridicule.”

Senator Sando Johnson, who had during the second round of the 2017 presidential election given his support to the CDC, said he also doesn’t trust the Liberia police.

“I don’t have trust and interest in the current police leadership, and so we now have to protect ourselves. We brought a video footage in chamber (today) so the Liberian people could see for themselves what really transpired, but people like Saah Joseph, did not want the truth to be brought out, because it would disgrace the CDC and police,” Sando Johnson said.

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