The Liberia National Police on yesterday charged and forwarded to court ringleader, Ben B. Togbah, Chairman of the group dubbed as “CDC-Council of Patriots)” and his accomplices in connection to the bloody July 26 violence held at the United States Embassy near Monrovia.
The violent clash between students of the Student Unification Party (SUP) at the University of Liberia and the CDC-CoP left several students badly injured while one has been flown out of the country to seek advanced medical attention.
Defendants Kendrick S. Pelenah, 30, Joshua S. Karr, 28, Pukar Roberts, 36, Ben B. Togbah, 25, Foday N. Massaquoi, 23, Aaron K. Chea, 26 and Abdurahman Barrie and others to be identified were charged with the crimes, criminal attempts to commit murder, aggravated assault, criminal mischief, theft of property, rioting, failure to disperse and disorderly conduct.
However, the defendants were released on bond by their Lawyer, Cllr. Arthur Johnson as they await trials.
According to police charged sheet, on August 4, the defendant’s action is in violation of chapter 14 section 14.20 chapter, chapter 15, sub-chapter A section 15.5, chapter 10.4 chapter 15, sub-chapter D section 15. 51, chapter A, section 17 section, section 17.1 and chapter 17, section 17.3 of the revised penal law of Liberia pending court trial.
The arrest of the defendants according to the police on July 29, is due to a communication received from the Crimes Service Department of the Liberia National Police from the Ministry of Justice to the Inspector General Col. Patrick T. Sudue to immediately conduct an investigation relative to the incident that occurred on the National Independence Day, same being July 26 in which a student of the Students Unification Party (SUP) identified as Christopher Walker Sisulu who was seen in multiple video recordings on social media being attacked, beaten and stripped naked.
The police investigative finding disclosed that stones were thrown by both groups CDC-COP and SUP in all directions during the incident thus causing several residents to remain indoors.
“Victim Christopher Walker Sisulu, having recognized that the situation had escalated ran from the main road into the community for safety but was chased and apprehended, beaten, stripped naked, humiliated publicly and violently taken back to the main road while blood was seen oozing from his face and mouth as seen on the recording,” Police Charge Sheet said.
The charge sheet further disclosed that neither the CDC-COP, SUP got a permit from the Ministry of Justice to assemble or protest, the Police investigation stated.
On July 26, National Independence Day celebration, during an early morning hour, the University of Liberia Student based group, Vanguard Student Unification Party gathered on Benson Street right in front of the United States Embassy accredited near Monrovia to carry out protest under the banner ‘’Fix the country’’ and to subsequently present their petition to the government on alleged corruption, bad governance and insecurity among others.
The LNP on August 2, arrested the chairman of the CDC-COP and his accomplices and informed them of their Miranda rights, investigated and subsequently charged them with the crimes of criminal attempts to commit murder, aggravated assault, criminal mischief, theft of property, rioting, failure to disperse and disorderly conduct for their complicity in a violent protest on July 26, that caused victims to sustain serious bodily injuries, while community dwellers’ properties got damaged and stolen.
