PHOTO: Main suspect James Kollie
By Garmah Never Lomo, garmahlomo@gmail.com
The Liberia National Police (LNP) today, Friday, July 23, 2021 arrested a man suspected of being the main of a German national in his company’s compound near Buchanan, Grand Bassa County over one year ago.
Suspect James Kollie, alias “Depree” was arrested n the Mount Barclay along with his girlfriend in the Mount Barclay area outside Monrovia.
Police Inspector General Patrick Sudue announced the latest arrest in a briefing to Journalists in Monrovia on Friday.
LNP IG Patrick Sudue
But suspect Kollie has told Journalists that he wasn’t involved in the killing, describing the accusation against him as lie.
The German man, Juergen Schedema, Manager of the International Consultant Company (ICC), was discovered dead early Wednesday,, January 22, 2021 at his logging company, which is located in Big Joe Town – more than a mile away from the port city of Buchanan, which is 88 miles from Liberia’s capital, Monrovia.
After the killing of the German last year, Police arrested, charged and sent to court two suspects, who admitted that they participated in the killing of a German National on January 22,2020, as six of the other armed men were still on the run.
L-R, slain German national and one of the first suspected killers
The two suspects were charged with murder and they are Emmanuel Kollie age 38 and Joseph Cole commonly known as Joe Cole.
Murder, which is a first degree felony and a capital offense and it violation is in Chapter 14 section 14.6 of the new penal law of the Republic of Liberia.
Last year, Police IG Sudue has disclosed that out of eight armed men who raided the German citizen’s company, two have been charged and forwarded to court awaiting trial, while the other six are in Monrovia. And the police are due to launch a vigorous in pursuit of the perpetrators. If they cannot be found, the Liberian police chief said their photos will be placed at various locations and declare them wanted.
According to the Liberia National Police Inspector General, Patrick Sudue, suspect Joseph Cole admitted he fired at the German National. But Cole claimed that it was not their intention to kill him, because they can go on their normal arm robbery hustle without killing anyone.
Further background to the incident
According to eyewitness Saah P-Early, one of the security officers on duty disclosed that about 1:30 am, the armed robbers wearing mask trooped into the logging company compound in Big Joe town. They came from the back of the company and entered into the building and first tied the four security officers who were at the front gate and took them into a room along with some other staff of the company.
Witness Early said they were taken into the room by the robbers they locked the door on them from outside; but luckily for them one of the staffs has spare key for the door and lacked it inside for their own protection.
The armed men then went in search of the General Manager Schedema and boost his door and window and him out of his bedroom and shot him on his left side and in his lower stomach and later dragged his lifeless body near an outside bathroom within the company’s facility.
Eyewitness account also showed that the robbers were only after the killing manager but did not touch any of the staff.
The killing of the German national last year also sparked reaction from President George Manneh Weah, who said his government would do all in its reach to arrest and prosecute ‘armed robbers’ suspected of killing a German expatriate on January 22, 2020 in Buchanan, Grand Bassa County, about 88 miles from the Liberian capital, Monrovia.
A statement on the Executive Mansion website last year said President Weah “extends his deepest condolences to the government and people of the Federal Republic of Germany for the brutal murder”.
He said police was working with local authorities to bring the perpetrators of the crime to justice.