2023 was a year filled with excitement, enthusiasm, disappointment, encouragement, and moreover, a time when Liberians gathered in their numbers to decide the next political path the country would tread for the next six years.
And sure, the Inquirer Newspaper stood vibrant, as one of Liberia’s most credible news outlets that followed, covered, and reported the news as it unfolded from every sector of the country, be it the economy, politics, religion, crimes, social justice, as well as individual news makers.
The YEAR IN REVIEW presented an earth-shattering experience for us all as Liberians, despite our political, religious, or professional affiliations, especially for those of us in the media who covered and reported the news from different angles.
In this maiden edition of our own YEAR-IN-REVIEW, we sought to recap some of the major stories that we published in 2023 and give credit to some personalities who made incredible or negative impact on the newsstand as well as the authors.
Jurors Declare Gloria Scott, Others Guilty, But…
By Grace Q. Bryant
Trial jurors in Criminal Court “A” have handed down a “guilty” verdict against defendants Gloria Musu Scott, Rebecca Youdeh, Alice Johnson, and Gertrude Newton, for the murder of Charloe Musu.
The jurors’ guilty verdict came after heated closing arguments from both parties proving their sides of the case.
During the final argument, Cllr. Scott’s defense relied on the argument that it was a male intruder who attacked the home and murdered her daughter.
Prosecution, on the other hand, charged the jurors to hold the defendants guilty of the crime charged, because armed robbers will not enter in a home and only attack and kill one person.
After the argument, Judge Roosevelt Z. Willie read the instructions regarding the law to the jury and instructed the panel jurors after which they returned with a ‘guilty’ verdict against Scott and her relatives. The matter is expected to be appealed before the Supreme Court.
Failed Promises : US Amb. Questions Govt PAPD Priorities
The United States Ambassador to Liberia, Michael McCarthy, raised a red flag on the Liberian government’s failure to fulfill promises made to its citizens in leeward counties under the national budget.
McCarthy, who has been raising top questions of priorities to the pro-poor agenda, disclosed that representatives and senators appropriate items in the national budget for selfish interests, forgetting their obligations to the people in the counties and districts they represent outside Monrovia.
According to the US Ambassador, his recent tour to the Southeast completed his access to the 15 political subdivisions of the country, where he received series of reports revealing that counties’ service centers and health facilities had been abandoned and deprived from getting the US$100,000 appropriated in the budget for them.
He said, “Multiple county hospitals received not one penny of what they were promised in the 2022 budget. Hospitals on which lives depend, where outbreaks are prevented and suffering is alleviated, did not receive any portion of the US$100,000 or more appropriated by the Legislature for them to operate.”
“I also visited most of the County Service Centers, and in 2022, none had received any of their budget allocation (usually around US$13,333). One center has not printed marriage certificates for four years because the printer broke, and their last allocation was received five years ago,” he added.
Ambassador McCarthy said the United States Government is about to spend a total of over US$40 million constructing Liberia’s state-of-the-art National Reference Laboratory (NRL) that, when completed, will require US$3 million to US$4 million a year from the Government of Liberia to operate.
Missing Diamond Protestors Brutalized
By Bill W. Cooper
On June 1, 2023, a group of protesters gathered at the home of President George Weah to demand answers for the whereabouts of a 53.3 karat diamond worth US$2.7m, and were allegedly beaten and arrested by officers of the Liberia National Police (LNP) in Monrovia.
There has been an ongoing controversy over the 53.3 karat diamond found in mining creek in Henry’s Town, Gbarpolu County, in which Assistant Minister of Mines at the Ministry of Mines and Energy, Emmanuel Swen, was accused of allegedly swaying the investigation for a person of interest.
Minister Swen has been consistently accused by stakeholders of Henry Town, including officers of the county’s diamond broker sector, of being in cohort with another party in the controversial ownership of a US$2.7m worth diamond, allegedly intended to be smuggled out of Liberia to Italy.
In his defense, Minister Swen clarified that, following the discovery of the diamond, he commenced an investigation with both parties to establish legitimacy over the ownership of the mineral.
He added, “My ruling was fair and unbiased; I handed down my verdict because the opposing party didn’t show enough proof to substantiate that they were the legitimate owners of the diamond, as such, I ruled that the real owner of the diamond was Junior,” he said.
Contrary to the Minister’s assertion, the protesters claimed that the 53.3 karat diamond got missing from a mine in Gbarpolu County, and accused Minister Swen, including other local authorities of colluding with the criminals to snip the diamond, which they believe could be used to help develop the county.
“Bogus” …Judge Rubbishes Gov’t’s Cocaine Case Indictment
By Grace Q. Bryant
The judge of Criminal Court “C”, Blamo Dixon, has described all four charges against the defendants in the just ended US$100m cocaine case as bogus.
The defendants were indicted on four counts, including money laundering, unlicensed importation of controlled drugs, unlicensed possession of controlled drugs, and criminal conspiracy.
Speaking Tuesday, when the management of FrontPage Africa appeared for criminal contempt proceedings, Judge Dixon said the four drug defendants were acquitted by jurors because crimes lavished by persecution did not commensurate with crimes committed.
He disclosed that the testimony of the New Dawn Newspaper publisher seriously undermined the Government of Liberia.
Judge Dixon also said that the testimony of the Customs Brokers Association of Liberia president, James Hinneh, also undermined the entire court proceeding.
According to Judge Dixon, government ministries informed the jurors on the stand that TRH containers are not allowed to pass through the regular channel at the Freeport of Monrovia.
The Criminal Court “C” Judge added that the Custom Brokers president also revealed that the GTMS tracking system informed the government on many occasions that a particular container on its way needed to be checked at the Freeport of Monrovia, adding that the government did not listen.
“This contempt proceeding gear out to the four unanimous not guilty verdicts that were brought down by the Sequestrated trial jurors of the criminal Court “C in the US$1 million dollars cocaine case,” he added.
Boakai Alarms Over Plastic Pollution
The Standard Bearer of the Unity Party has said plastic pollution in Liberia has reached alarming proportion and stressed the urgent need to declare war on plastic pollution in the country.
Amb. Joseph N. Boakai said there will be dire consequences on the environment if Liberians fail to take action to protect the nation from this menace that has overtaken the environment in the country.
World Environment Day is celebrated on June 5 each year to increase appreciation for the environment and develop responsible conduct to preserve and improve it.
He reminded Liberians that the United Nations in 1972 established World Environment Day because of the Stockholm Conference on Human Environment and was first celebrated in 1973.
Fifty years on, the former Vice President said, nations and peoples around the world have not fully implemented policies to deal with critical matters affecting the environment especially the issues of factors that lead to global warming, noting that developed nations have, to a considerable extent, reneged on cutting on the emission of gases that are destroying the ozone layer, according to the statement.
Who’s Mishandling Garbage Funds? -As Liberians Eat Dirt In Red-Light
By Bill W. Cooper
Red-Light, one of the busiest commercial areas in Montserrado County, continues to witness a serious surge in garbage accumulation and deterioration in sanitation, leading to the filthiness of the entire market.
As a result, the Paynesville City Corporation (PCC) and Liberia Marketing Association (LMA) are now under scrutiny as they face accusations of misappropriating funds allocated for waste management in the area.
The once vibrant marketplace, known for its bustling activities, now suffers from an overwhelming garbage problem, with the PCC and LMA ignoring the cries and complaints from marketers.
Piles of trash are strewn across the streets, causing an unpleasant stench and posing a significant health hazard to residents and visitors alike, as the escalating situation has also raised concerns among citizens, who are now demanding immediate action from the authorities.
The LMA, responsible for maintaining cleanliness within the market area, has faced severe criticism for its failure to effectively manage waste disposal, as it is also alleged that the association has been misusing funds allocated for garbage collection and other maintenance activities.
Former VP Boakai Wins Liberia’s Presidency
By Bill W. Cooper
The former Vice president, Joseph Nyuma Boakai, has made history, after emerging as the President-elect of Liberia, following a heavily contested race between him and incumbent President George M. Weah.
On Tuesday October 10, President Weah and former VP Boakai, as well as 18 other candidates, battled it out for the country’s Presidency, but none of the candidates was able to obtain universal suffrage, which constitutes an outright majority of the total votes cast (50 percent plus one).
As a result, the National Elections Commission (NEC) then declared a run-off election between Weah and Boakai, who both got the highest number of votes during the October 10 polls. The run-off was held on November 14, 2023.
But with over 99 percent and 5,889 of the total 5,890 polling places across the country announced, Boakai, 79, has obtained 814,428 votes, amounting to 50.64 percent, compared to Weah’s 793,910 votes, constituting 49.36 percent, with a margin of 20,718 votes.
Boakai, who served as Vice president to former President Ellen Johnson Sirleaf for 12 years, with over 40 years of experience in the public sector’s win is historic, becoming the second presidential candidate in Liberia to return a former ruling party to power since 1878, when former President, Anthony W. Gardiner, did so with the True Whig Party (TWP).
INQUIRER Gets First Female Managing Editor
On January 3, 2023, Madam Christiana Winnie Saywah Jimmy, commonly known as C’ Win, was appointed as the first female Managing Editor of the Inquirer Newspaper by the Board of Directors of the New Era Corporation, publisher of the Inquirer Newspaper. Madam Jimmy is the third managing editor but the first female to assume to the highest post of the paper.
“We present our compliments and to inform you that the Board is herewith appointing you as the Managing Editor of the INQUIRER Newspaper. We are pleased to appoint you to this very important position national and international significance because you have proven to be competent, reliable, and willing to learn,” the board said.
