Normal Businesses In Monrovia Disrupted For Hours …Following Closure of Henry Costa’s Radio Station

By Bill W. Cooper
Normal activities in Monrovia were disrupted for several hours yesterday as the result of the closure of the Roots FM owned by famous Talk-Show Host presently residing in the United States of America (USA), Henry P. Costa.
The closure of the station witnessed serious stone-throwing by supporters of Costa at the Liberia National Police (LNP) who were seen dressed in their normal turtle suits, and at the same time the LNP were also seen releasing their teargas at supporters, while supporters were also heard chanting anti-President Weah slogan “President Weah leave our hero, Persecute Samuel Tweah.”
As the results of the stone throwing and the discharging of the teargas, one Erison Karnwea got seriously injured by an unseen stone while one LINA reporter was also severely beaten by an unknown LNP officer, which led to the loss of his cell phone and other belongings.

Our reporter who visited the scene narrated that the incident sparked up when two sheriffs from the court and some officers of the LNP were seen in the building that is hosting the Roots FM Radio Station disconnecting equipment on grounds that they were ordered by the court to clear and close the station but said notice was not given to the station manager or any other employees of the station before the action was being meted out.
According to our reporter, after several hours of the clearing, it was when the sheriffs then decided to hand over a document to the Operational Manager, Sylvester Brown for his signature yet he refused to sign saying, “Our rights were violated, our station’s equipment and other materials were illegally taken away by the government as well as illegally barricaded and closed down.”
Our reporter added that, upon the clearing of the building, all journalists were denied from entering as the sheriffs along with the LNP officers took away all of the equipment from the station, stressing that all efforts exerted to see the Writ from the court proved futile with the understanding that it was not for public viewing.

Speaking to scores of journalists, Operational Manager Brown indicated that the situation is something that is strange and said his station is being targeted by the government only because they speak the truth, noting that the Roots FM is not like what other stations think of them but instead they are there for the masses.
He added that the President of the country has been branded as somebody who suppresses press freedom, stating that what they do on their platform is not to incite but to speak the truth and said what has happened marks a very strange thing in the country’s democracy.

Barley minutes after the closure of the Roots FM, many believed to be supporters of Costa were seen making their way to the Freedom FM at the Benson and Randall Street intersections but came across would-be supporters of the Freedom FM, as their movement and provocation also caused panic, which saw many businesses around said area also closing down due to the tension.
The drama at the Freedom FM that lasted for hours witnessed another group who were said to be supporters of the CDC-led government chanting pro-government slogan hailing the government for the action.
When contacted, some LNP officers said that their acceptance of said individuals was to make sure that they are safe, as they will be set free immediately upon the ceasing of the violence, noting that they do not have any evidence against them for throwing stones that caused the violence.
Recently, the Press Union of Liberia (PUL) president, Charles Coffey stated during the PUL anniversary celebration in Gbarnga City, Bong County that “We have named two media institutions that the PUL considers as destructive tools to society. The Freedom FM owned by the Deputy National Security Director, Sam Siryon who we expect to be collecting intelligent reports for peace and stability in the country. His media is being used to wage war on the country by using invectives and also urging people to go and rebel against State authority.”
“The government must take actions, because I know the young journalists who lack the fundamentals of journalism don’t have the adequate capacity to analyze situations and go on radio insulting; when you talk, they blackmail you and that is unacceptable,” he went on.
The PUL president then called on the government to punish Roots 102.7 FM owned and operated by political commentator, Henry Costa and Freedom 87.9 FM owned and operated by National Security Agency (NSA) director for Operations, Sam Siryon.
However, following the closure of the station that resulted into rioting and partial closure of businesses in Central Monrovia, Mr. Coffey assured that investigations are ongoing into the matter and that the Union will ensure that the matter is resolved soon.
It was against this backdrop, many citizens were seen speculating that it was as the result of the PUL president’s statement that triggered the action of the government to close down Roots FM, as some of them were also seen criticizing government’s failure to do the same to Freedom FM.
Meanwhile, two days prior to the incident, the Liberia Telecommunication Authority (LTA) wrote the Minister of the Ministry of Justice informing him of some individuals/entities of being operating radio stations in the country without a valid license and authorization from the LTA, which they said are in contravention of Section 15 of the Telecommunications Act of 2007.
In a letter dated October 8, 2019 and signed by the LTA Chairman, Ivan G. Brown to the MOJ, they outlined that the 102.7, 102.5 and 102.1 are said frequencies occupied by individuals/entities that are is operating in the country without valid license and said that their failure to obtain valid license and authorization is denying government of its required revenue.