The attention of the Civil Society Network of Liberia is drawn to series of assertions made by the Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of the International Bank Limited (IB), Henry Saamoi before the Civil Law Court of Montserrado County.
In his six-count complaint for divorce before the court, Mr. Saamoi said his action to divorce Vivian Joe Saamoi is due to incompatibility of temper, cruel and inhumane treatment.
Having followed the case, and based on investigation conducted by the Civil Society Network of Liberia, assertions by Henry Saamoi against his wife, which according to him give rise to his complaints of divorce is not only false and misleading, but highly insubstantial to warrant a divorce.
His complaint of inhumane treatment by his wife, on grounds of her refusal to cater to his mother and three children is unrealistic and illogical, according to the civil society group.
“How can Mr. Saamoi accuse his wife of refusing to cater to his children who reside in the US? There are records of agreed financial support that are regularly made to the children in the US to cater to their needs’ even though they are not the biological children of Mrs. Saamoi,” the group stated.
The Civil Society Network of Liberia said its investigation also established that Mr. Saamoi’s assertion before the court that his wife, Vivian, has been in the habit of publicly insulting and physically assaulting him has no proof and is just intended for him to justify his extramarital affairs, which has brought so much emotional and psychological pain to his wife.
According to the Network, there is no record at the Liberia National Police regarding any complaint(s) from Mr. Saamoi about acts of physical and verbal attacks by his wife during their eight years of marriage.
The group said the real truth is, Mr. Saamoi has been the one in the usual habit of insulting and brutalizing his wife, with evidence in the possession of the civil society showing bruises he inflicted on her.
The CSNL explained that in November 2020 when the Covid-19 was at its peak, Mr. Saamoi abandoned his wife and their three year-old son in the VOA Road, Brewerville Community and moved to sinkor.
“Before leaving the house, he dismissed all the security officers, drivers. What is even wicked on his part was that he refused to cater to his wife and child since 2020,” the group investigation revealed.
“We are reliably informed from our investigation that in November 2020, while pretending to reconcile with his wife, Mr. Saamoi requested for a change of school for the child from Brewerville to sinkor; which led to the child moving to live with him in sinkor. After a week, Mr. Saamoi got reunited with his wife, which led her to move to his sinkor residence. Having spent two weeks in the house in Sinkor, Mr. Saamoi informed his wife that he did not want to meet her and the child at his Sinkor’s Residence upon his return from work the next day. With the thought that it was a joke, but true to his words, Mr. Saamoi came from work the next day and threw his wife and the child out at 11:00 PM. It was so embarrassing and appalling that Mrs. Saamoi and the child had to leave Sinkor for Brewerville at midnight, which put them in harm’s way,” the CSNL disclosed.
Our investigation also shows that despite all of these cruel and inhumane treatments meted out by Mr. Saamoi against his wife and child, on September 12, 2021, while at work, Mrs. Saamoi received a call from her office security that a sheriff was at the office to her with a communication from the Momoh & Associates Law Firm.
The communication cited her for a conference at the law firm between her husband and her. When she attended the conference, Mr. Saamoi’s lawyer, Johnny Momoh arrogantly asked her to state what she wanted as settlement from her husband. She left the law firm after Cllr. Momoh and her husband could not tell her the basis for their question. To her dismay, after a given period, she received a Writ of Divorce from the Civil Law Court of Montserrado County.
According to the investigation, since 2021, Mr. Saamoi has been pleading before the Civil Law Court to grant him divorce without settlement of his wife, being fully knowledgeable that he and her acquired several properties; including, but not limited to: a house located VOA Road, Brewerville (currently occupied by his wife) and a joint account at LBDI, which his wife no longer has access to since the inception of this case. They acquired 80 acres of farm land in Bomi County; established other businesses and there is a record that he secretly bought two houses on 16th & 19th streets.
In conclusion, the Civil Society Network of Liberia said it is aware that Mr. Saamoi is dishing out monies as bribes just to deny his wife of her legal marital benefits.
“We call on the Civil Law Court of Montserrado County, presided over by the experienced and learned Judge, Kennedy Peabody, to ensure that Mrs. Saamoi is served justice,” the Civil Society Network of Liberia stated with assurance that it will follow the case to a logical conclusion.
