By Bill W. Cooper
The Liberian Senate has mandated its Committees on Judiciary, Claims and Petitions to investigate allegation of internal wrangling happening at the Independent National Commission on Human Rights (INCHR) of Liberia.
The Senate in its mandate also instructed the Committees to ensure a speedy and holistic investigation to enable that body amicably resolve the situation that is said to have stalled the workings of the Commission in recent times.
The Senate’s decision was however triggered following a complaint from River Gee County Senator, Jonathan Boye-Charles Sogbie in which he pleaded with his colleagues to cordially intervene into the situation at the Commission to save its image and reputation.
The INCHR which is a national body, responsible for ensuring and providing the mechanism and avenue for addressing issues relating to Human Rights abuses in Liberia has been in the news for bad reasons ranging from allegations of division among commissioners and the illegal removal of the Commission’s vice-chair, Harris.
Others are sexual assault allegation from one of its Commissioners, Mohammed Fahnbulleh against an employee of the Commission including a heated abusive argument between one of the commissioners, and the head of the Commission’s Secretariat.
But according to the River Gee County Senator, he has also been informed that there is one commissioner currently working at the commission who is yet to be confirmed by the Liberian Senate, something that violates the Act establishing the commission.
Senator Sogbie maintained, “Colleagues, we are further informed that Liberia also stands the risk of declining from status A to status C of its human rights credential due to its Chairperson, Cllr. T. Dempster Brown’s alleged and deliberate refusal to cooperate and involve other commissioners of the board in decision making of the Commission.”
“Also, there are allegations of serious division within the commission and as such, there is no discussion or any major happening at the Commission intended to defend the country’s human rights profiling standing,” he said.
Senator Sogbie added, “Amid these claims and counterclaims amongst some Commissioners of the commission, I think it’s necessary, prudent and timely that this body makes intervention to save the image and reputation of the commission and the country as a whole.”
Meanwhile, Senator Sogbie has pleaded with his colleagues to investigate some of the happenings at the level of the Governance Commission (GC) which he said have now taken another trend.
