The Association of Liberian Journalists in the Americas (ALJA) wants Police Director, Colonel Patrick Sudue sacked.
It said while there exists numerous issues at different levels of the criminal justice system, the police boss’s dismissal for incompetence and administrative inefficiency would send the signal to the public that the government is committed to protecting the lives and properties of all people within the territorial confines of the country.
In a statement released yesterday in Monrovia, ALJA maintained that under Sudue’s watch as head of the police, the number of unsolved murders in the country has risen so much so that the public has lost trust and confidence in the ability of the police to bring the perpetrators of these crimes to Justice.
As a result, family members of the victims, who are seeking justice, are left with a feeling of frustration and disillusionment.
It also acknowledged that crime exists in every society and not every crime will be solved, but it however believes that there exists trained officers who can address the current wave of murders in Liberia under a new leadership.
Madam Maude Elliot, a former employee of the Liberia Immigration Services (LIS) and two prominent individuals including Liberia’s Peace Ambassador, William R. Tolbert III, and John Hilary Tubman were all in recent times gruesomely murdered in their homes.
The death of these three individuals comes on the heel of a number of mutilated bodies found in different parts of the country amidst reports of an upsurge in ritualistic killings.
The Association said the Police Director did further damage to his reputation with his recent bizarre and unsubstantiated claims that reports of widespread ritualistic killings in the country were fake and a ploy by opposition politicians to tarnish the image of the government.
ALJA stressed that while Sudue is a political appointee, the office of the Director needs not to be a political and professional but should continuously work to maintain the integrity and independence of the police.
ALJA said that the fundamental responsibility of any government is to protect the lives and properties of its citizens; and it urged President George Weah and the Liberian government to take immediate actions to remedy this crisis as these unsolved murders suggest that the government is failing in meeting this responsibility.
The Association stated further that most Liberians at home now live in perpetual fear, and are not sure as to whether the Weah administration has the will power or the capacity to bring the perpetrators of the reported murders to justice.
The United States based Liberian Journalists Association maintained that with the Christmas holidays just weeks away and the country’s Bi Centennial celebrations or the Year of the Return on the horizon, the government must ensure that confidence is restored in the country’s criminal justice system if it intends to attract tourists, investors and Liberians living abroad to the country.
ALJA is a conglomeration of current and retired Liberian journalists residing in the Americas. It is a 501c (3) non-profit organization.
The Association was founded in 1998 with the objectives of advancing press freedom through media capacity building, and the fostering of good governance in Liberia through media advocacy.