The Pervasiveness Of Mysterious Disappearances And Deaths Has Assumed A Central Stage In The Social, Political And Economic Life Of Liberia.
There Are Multiple Reports Highlighted Of Myriad Of Cases Of Mysterious Disappearances With Some Of The Victims, Mostly Women And Children Found Dead And, In Some Instances, Body Parts Allegedly Extracted From The Deceased.
Despite Reports Of Mysterious Disappearances And Deaths, On January 20, 2022, A Three-Year-Old Girl Was Found Dead In Gbandi Quarter, Voinjama City, Lofa County. According To Her 18-Year-Old Aunt, She Escorted The Victim To A Nearby Bush To Use The Latrine When She Mysteriously Disappeared. With Such Mysterious Disappearance, She Told The Police That She Left The Victim In A Nearby Bush And Ran Home For Her Underclothes.
She Further Told The Police That Upon Her Return, The Victim Was Missing From The Spot Where She Was Defecating. Unfortunately, The Child Was Found Dead At The Very Location Where She Had Gone Missing.
She Was Found With Her Neck Tied With Pink Cloth And Blood Full In The Mouth. The Victim Was Reported Missing At About 8:00pm And Was Found At 8:45pm.
Similarly, On February 14, 2022, Amos Wleh, 27 And An Employee Of The Golden Verolum Oil Palm Company In Sinoe County Was Discovered Dead After He Was Reportedly Missing For Two Days When His Family Reported To The Police That His Missing Followed The Valentine’s Day Celebration In The Concession Area.
Following The Discovery Of The Body Near A Creek In Nyafor’s Town Community In Tarjuowon District, The Police Informed The Inquirer Newspaper That Families Of The Deceased Did Not Allow The Liberia National Police And The Ministry Of Health And Other Parties To Establish Potential Cause Of Death But Instead Removed The Body In The Absence Of The Lnp And Partners.
The Police Commander In Sinoe County Observed That The Action Of The Family Had Made It Difficult For The Police Investigation.
When The Inquirer Newspaper Contacted The Family, They Denied The Police Allegation, Stating That The Police Did Not Show Interest In The Death Of Their Relative, But Was Rather Putting Criminal Charges Against Them With The Aim Of Extorting Money From Them.
A 33-Year-Old Man Was Also Allegedly Murdered By Some Unidentified Persons On December 28, 2021 In Kingjor, Grand Cape Mounty County. His Remains Were Discovered Under A Palm Wine Kitchen Where He Usually Sold Palm Wine. A 15-Man Coronal Jury Reported That Some Body Parts Including The Ear, Lip, Sexual Organs, And Tongue Were Allegedly Extracted.
In March Of 2022, The Lifeless Body Of Precious Cooper, Female Hair Dresser And A Resident Of Tweh Farm On The Bushrod Island Was Discovered Dead In Pool Of Blood In The Fawaz Compound At The Elwa Junction In Paynesville. The Autopsy Reports Indicated That She Suffered From Tuberculosis, A Report That Family Members Contested.
In The Same March, A 24-Year Old Man Identified As Mervin Togba Was Found Dead In His Room In The Jallah’s Town Community In Monrovia. Police Also Said That He Broke His Neck After Falling From His Bed.
Barely Two Weeks After Advocating For Justice For Precious Cooper, Emmanuel Cooper, The Advocate, Was Found Dead At The John F. Kennedy Memorial Hospital After Being Reported Missing By His Family. The Lnp Spokesman, Moses Cater, Told Liberians On A Local Radio That The Deceased Was Involved In A Motorbike Accident And Was Rushed To The Jfk Hospital Where He Reportedly Died.
The Liberia National Police Act Of 2015, Section 3 (A), Seeks “To Ensure The Safety, Security, Protection Of Life And Property And Respect Human Rights Throughout The Republic Of Liberia.”
Also, Article 11 (A) Of The 1986 Constitution Of Liberia States That: “All Persons Are Born Equally Free And Independent And Have Certain Natural, Inherent And Inalienable Rights, Among Which Are The Rights To Enjoying And Defending Life And Liberty, Of Pursuing And Maintaining The Security Of The Person And Of Acquiring, Possessing And Protecting Property, Subject To Such Qualification As Provided For In This Constitution.”
And Article 20 (A) Of The 1986 Constitution Of Liberia States That, “No Person Shall Be Deprived Of Life, Liberty, Security Of The Person, Property, Privilege Or Any Other Right Except As The Outcome Of A Hearing Judgment Consistent With The Provisions Laid Down In This Constitution And In Accordance With Due Process Of Law. Justice Shall Be Done Without Sale, Denial Or Delay; And In All Cases Not Arising In Courts Not Of Record, Under Courts-Martial And Upon Impeachment, The Parties Shall Have The Right To Trial By Jury.”
Additionally, Liberia Has Ratified Other International Human Rights Treaties And Has Adopted Other Human Rights Instruments That Guarantee The Protection Of Life Including Article 3 Of The Udhr, Article 6 Of The Iccpr, And Article 4 Of The Achpr And Article 24 Of The Cprd.
Despite These National And International Legal Instruments That Liberia Has Affixed Her Signature To, Its People Still Live Fear For Their Safety In A Country Where The Police Will Do Nothing But A Phone-In-Call To One Of The Local Radio Stations In Monrovia To Misinform The Public On Issue Surrounding Mysterious Disappearances And Deaths Rather Than Providing Justice For The Victims.
Accusing Fingers Are Pointed To Government For Its Negligence In Bringing The Perpetrators To Book. Some Even Say That Some Of These Deaths Are Government-Sanctioned, Though This Paper Is Yet To Prove Their Assertions.
