The political leader of the Rainbow Alliance (RA), Regnald Goodrige is accusing President George Weah of verbally assaulting him and has vowed to file a $27 million lawsuit against for defamation of Character but after his tenure.
“In order to ensure that President Weah and his surrogates do not continue this lie, I am today informing the Liberian people that I will file a lawsuit in the courts of Liberia against Mr. Weah for Libel, and Defamation of character; and I will be seeking a remedy of US$27 million in damages.” “We are aware that Mr. Weah is immune from certain judicial processes from the lower courts, due to executive privileges as President of Liberia, but we will file this case, keep it on the record and patiently wait until Mr. Weah leaves office, which we expect will be sooner than later,” Goodrige threatened.
He said, it was about 3:PM on Tuesday, April 4, 2023, following the signing of the revised Farmington River Declaration at the Farmington Hotel, he was approached in an aggressive manner by President Weah. He said to me, “Goodrige, are you are enjoying democracy in Liberia? I was surprised by the question and lost of words.”
“I moved away from the President. He approached me again, and repeated the question several times, “Goodridge, I say, ehn you enjoying democracy in Liberia?” Before I could find an answer, he said to me, “Look at you. You are a rogue. You stole my car and burned down my house. I responded to the President that what he had said was a lie, and there was an intense exchange of words between us,” Goodrige narrated.”
Mr. Goodrige made this accusation against the Liberia President when he addressed the media at his Benson Street’s office in Monrovia.
He said, “The President made these false allegations in an angry tone surrounded by his bodyguards, in the presence of his wife, Mrs. Clar-Weah, Lusinee F. Kamara, Political Leader of the All Liberia Coalition Party, (ALCOP), and Rev. David Kemue, Political Leader of the Democratic People’s Party of Liberia (DPPL), and others whom I cannot easily identify”.
He added two days after the President made this verbal assault against him, “I made an oral representation of the incident to a number of individuals in integrity institutions, close associates of the President and in his inner circle and members of the National Executive Committee of the Rainbow Alliance.”
Mr. Goodrige mentioned that the general response has been one of shock, dismay and alarmed.
According to him, many are questioning the motive of the President, especially moments after he affixed his signature to the Farmington Declaration which states among other issues on page 3, count 6 and 8, under the heading, Campaign Management, stating “Refrain from making or causing to make in our names or that of our party, or coalition, any public statements, pronouncements, declarations or speeches, or use of language, online or offline, that have the propensity to incite any form of violence or intimidation and human rights abuses before, during and after elections…”
Count 8 says: “Refrain from on and offline disinformation, fake news and online manipulation that will influence or polarize public opinion or promote skepticism towards the electoral process and institutions and, in the end, undermine the integrity of the democratic process.”
The fact that the President has already begun violating the Farmington Declaration few moments after he made a keynote address and pledged that he and his government will abide by the letter of the agreement, called for concern, not only for the Rainbow Alliance, but all other opposition political institutions.
“Moreover, the President’s verbal assault on me as a political leader in the opposition community, in the presence of his armed bodyguards, and other members of his government in the wake of speculations of extra-judicial killings of auditors and other persons in Liberia serves as a license to have me killed,” Goodrige stated.
“This is why President Weah’s false, stupid and malicious allegations against me personally, and the name of my family, cannot, and must not be taken lightly. My family name, the Goodridge name, has a long and unblemished reputation and legacy in Liberia. We have made major contributions to the progress and development of Liberia for many years, and continue to do so today,” he stated.
“I, as the icon of this proud family at this point in time, will not stand idle and allow my family’s name to be tarnished by bold face lies and allegations by a president, who himself is alleged to be subject of investigation by international intelligence agencies on account of suspected shadowy deeds. By his actions, Mr. Weah has lowered the prestige of the Presidency and spoiled our sovereignty by his ineffective leadership,” Goodrige stated.
“We recall 43 years ago, good men from decent families in Liberia were falsely accused of rampant corruption. They were subject to mockery, tried by a kangaroo court and executed like animals. This country has never been the same since those dark days. Many Liberians are today regretting that sad incident. And Today, the President of our nation, is repeating that same deadly tactic on me and my family. If he is allowed to succeed, I guarantee you, he will not stop there. He will come after other leaders in the opposition community because he knows that the days of his failed Presidency are numbered.”
According to him, these false and malicious allegations that President Weah has made public were first altered exactly 27 years ago today on April 6, 1996. It was a lie then. It is a lie today. And it will be a lie 1000 years after. ”He therefore stated that in the meantime, “We are filing a formal complaint of Mr. Weah’s actions with the Ministry of Justice, the National Elections Commission, the United Nations Special Representative in Liberia, the ECOWAS Commission, and the Embassy of the United States of America, among others.”
“We will not just leave it alone. We will continue to fight to keep the powerful people accountable for their actions; to let them know that every Liberian is not a fool, that every Liberian is not afraid to take a stand for the future of our country,” he said.
