Reports from Belle District in Liberia’s northwestern Gbarpolu County say five persons, including two local government officials, have been arrested and jailed for their alleged involvement in a murder case.
The thre local government officials are Mulbah Manow, Commissioner, David Sumo, Town Chief and Samuel B. Lackay of watch forum chairman.
David sumo, Edwin Konowuo, Francis Johnny and Samuel B. Lackay are charged with murder and Commissioner Mulbah Manow is charged with criminal conspiracy.
According to the reports, in an area rife with superstitious beliefs and suspicions of witchcraft, a resident who hailed from Lofa County but residing there with his family, sent a little boy “to carry comb to someone to comb his hair so that he can die.”
The child reportedly took the comb to the man whom the deceased Kwa Saysay said delivered the information given to him. And upon hearing such information from the child, he immediately took the complaint to the acting commissioner, Hosee Vakpannah who investigated the matter. But the outcome is yet to be known.
Upon the return of the commissioner proper because he (Vakpannah) was acting, the matter was turned over to the proper commissioner, Mulbah Manow at a forum. But the accused commissioner also turned the man now deceased over to the watch forum chairman to be guided by him.
The accused commissioner Manow instructed the watch forum chairman to take the man to the commissioner’s compound to cut some grass on allegation that he (the deceased) was a killer.
However that was the last time the man was seen. When the watch forum asked the commissioner later about the whereabouts of the man, the commissioner responded that he turned him over to them,
Thereafter, it was only the man’s corpse that was subsequently discovered under a palm tree by some locals, who immediately informed the accused commissioner and he too informed the Superintendent and who later reported the matter to the police.
Meanwhile, the three officials are currently under investigation by the Liberia National police. Report by Garmah Never Lomo