By Bill W. Cooper
A prominent Liberian, Amb. Laraamand Nyonton is urging President George M. Weah to go beyond asking the American government to aid in the investigation of circumstances surrounding the mysterious deaths of some government officials in the country.He said the call by the Liberian leader is commendable but stated that it will be prudent if the President is to launch an independent investigation to ascertain the actual cause of the deaths of the four government employees as they await the US government’s intervention.
Amb. Nyonton’s statement was triggered by the recent waves of mysterious deaths of auditors ranging from Albert Peters, Gifty Lama and George Fahnbutu all from the Liberia Revenue Authority (LRA) and the recent death of the Internal Audit Agency (IAA) boss, Emmanuel Nyeswa.
Addressing a news conference live from the USA on yesterday, Amb. Nyonton stated that he still believes that there are compelling reasons to deduce that President Weah’s call was meant to ease the growing public concerns and redirect Liberians from the conversations around the various mysterious deaths.
According to him, since the deaths of several government officials, there has been no reports which makes it is hard to believe that the government’s investigation will derive the needed justice.
He added, “The story clouding Mr. Nyeswa’s death sounds likely the 2:00 A.M. episode of Matthew Innis’ hit and run death in March of 2019. But what all of these accounts have in common is that Albert, Gifty, George and Emmanuel were all auditors and unbending in the practice of their profession; upholding of their ethics.”
“These deaths are not normal. These deaths are not coincidental. We know that Liberia’s economic conditions are challenging and fragile and that development partners, including the World Bank and the IMF have been working with the government on pro-poor reforms, including addressing weaknesses in governance, sustainable and inclusive economic growth and public-sector transparency,” Amb. Nyonton explained further.
He stressed that the government needs to instruct the LRA boss to release the basic details of the deceased auditors, adding, “We demand to know the audit these auditors were working on? What was the nature of the audit? How many persons were on that team?”
Meanwhile, Amb. Nyonton has further urged President Weah and his government saying, “One more Death of anymore auditor of this government, will mark the collapse of the Weah-led administration.”