By Bill W. Cooper
“But let these words go forth that Minister Dee Maxwell Kemayah cannot break my spirit to fight for justice,” were the exact words of Wynee Cummings Wilson, a staff at the Permanent Mission in New York.
Ms. Wilson voiced out that no matter what Minister Kemayah throws her way, he will account for his actions, either willingly, or he will be forced to do so through the appropriate laws.
“I appreciate all of the support and I ask for your continued prayers, because as far as I am concerned, I remain a staff at the Permanent Mission of Liberia to the UN in New York, serving in the capacity of secretary when Minister Kemayah took advantage of me,” she emphasized.
According to Wilson, her complaint filed was not against the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, but against Minister Kemayah, contrary to what is being portrayed by Kemayah and his likes, including Robert Sammie, Chairperson of MOVEE, which Kemayah serves as the leader.
She maintained, “The fact is that Minister Kemayah hired a private lawyer when I first complained about him on September 3, 2020. I did not see any press statement issued by the Ministry “refuting” my allegation. My action is solely directed at an individual, Minister Kemayah.”
“And for the record, I am not an apprentice! My bank account reflecting salary payments to me does not carry such title. This is a diabolical lie intended to mislead the public from the accused Minister Kemayah, who has no morals, no principles, and no values,” she noted.
Wilson further explained, “These deliberate distortions represent a pattern of harassments, intimidations, retaliations, and retributions by Minister Kemayah since I reported him for sexual harassment to the Office of Foreign Missions at the United States Department of State in September 2020.”
“For the last six months, Minister Kemayah has refused to authorize my salary payments and ordered that I be removed from payroll. However, for service to country, I have continued to go to work regularly, with the hope that all the complaints made to senior officials of government in Monrovia regarding my treatment at the Mission at the hands of Kemayah and cronies will yield fruitful results. Also, quite recently, he ordered that I be prevented from entering the office.
“To date, all of my appeals to address my situation have fallen on deaf ears, as I have not received a penny of my salary owed me. Regarding the reference to my employment eligibility as a local staff at the Permanent Mission of Liberia to the UN, the U.S. Mission to the UN provided clarity, hereunder, on this matter, which was forwarded to the Foreign Ministry in Monrovia,” she said.
Wilson further narrated, “Individuals with a valid work authorization are allowed to be employed as a local hire by a Permanent Mission.” An individual’s work authorization, or employment eligibility, refers to his or her legal right to work in the United States.”
“I provided, on multiple occasions, as requested, my valid Employment Authorization document, in keeping with United States law, to enable me to work as a local staff at the Permanent Mission. Since September 2019, I have not functioned as a secretary but a ‘local staff’.
So, how come I was placed on the Ministry’s payroll, receiving salaries when Minister Kemayah was Ambassador? How did I get on the Ministry’s payroll and receive monthly salary for over three years? Why all of a sudden after I reported the sexual harassment by Minister Kemayah, then I am no longer a staff of the Mission, but without a termination letter?” She wondered.
She added, “Did I not meet the host country’s requirements? Or does this mean that the Permanent Mission of Liberia to the United Nations was in violation of the host country’s laws? And these are all questions that I need answers for needs to be addressed now.”
Madam Wilson however clarified that the current pattern of press conferences and releases being issued by Kemayah and his cohorts are intended to silence her from exposing the immoral character of the country’s Foreign Minister, something she vowed not slow down on anytime soon.
Days after being denied entry into the compound of Liberia’s Permanent Mission in New York, Ms. Wilson involved in a controversial ‘sexual harassment’ case filed against Minister Kemayah, Wynee Cummings Wilson, has finally broken her silence, but with a caveat.
the story got resurrected again on November 6, 2023, at the country’s Permanent Mission, after officers of the New York Police Department were called in to prevent Madam Wilson from entering into the building, on grounds that she was no longer an employee of the government.
The altercation lasted for several minutes but could not be controlled, despite the intervention of former Foreign Affairs Minister, Henry Fahnbulleh, thereby resulting in the arrest of Wilson who refused to adhere to NYPD orders to vacate the premises of the Mission.
Late Wednesday evening, the drama escalated to Fahnbulleh with an immediate dismissal by President George Weah for what was termed ‘administrative reason’ but that was after the former deputy minister was heard in a live video footage giving clarity as the direct supervisor of Liberia’s foreign mission to the officers of the NYPD 17 who were trying to calm the altercation between Wilson and some staffs at the Mission headquarters in New York.
