By B. Linus Flomo
Solidarity and Trust for a New Day (STAND) mourns the tragic death of AFL’s Sergeant Bobby Manneh, as the tragic incident occurred on Thursday, May 30, 2024 during the late night hours.
While Sgt. Manneh was serving duty at the Edward Binyah Kesselly Barracks in Schiefflin, the AFL released claims that Sgt. Manneh “Took his own life while on guidepost” firing several bullets into his own head.
The AFL statement attributed the cause of death to suicide and claimed that it notified the Liberia National Police (LNP), which immediately dispatched officers from the Homicide Division to the scene.
While STAND seeks prompt answers, the organization urges the Boakai administration to authorize or support a swift and impartial investigation to ensure justice and strengthen public confidence in the nation’s justice system.
President Boakai has encouraged the investigators to prioritize a credible investigation, which was further reinforced by the diverse narratives already circulating in the public square.
STAND notes that this is not unique to the Army, regardless of which administration is running the country.
In 2021, a trained and professional Executive Protection Service (EPS) Agent Melvin Earley was reported by Law Enforcement to have ‘Shot himself in the head three times and died in Tappita, Nimba County.
The AFL’s claim of suicidal death of a professional and patriotic soldier, gives cause for alarm.
Like in the Melvin Earley case, upon seeing the dead body of this patriot, the deceased’s family rejected the Liberian government’s suicide claims, offering an entirely different narrative that Mr. Earley was allegedly shot in the abdomen, chest, and head, contrary to government information sources.
Meanwhile, STAND called on the Liberia National Police to reopen the Melvin Earley case to conduct a more thorough, transparent, and unbiased investigation into the claims and counterclaims surrounding the EPS agent’s death.
This request is particularly pertinent, according to the group, given the swirling controversies surrounding Sergeant Bobby Manneh’s death, which shares many similarities with the death of Agent Melvin Earley.
Research conducted by STAND indicates that experts in such cases note that multiple gunshot wounds to the head are typically indicative of homicide rather than suicide.
