Some officers of the Liberia National Police (LNP) have arrested several persons in connection with the alleged arson and looting at the Salala Rubber Corporation (SRC) in Weala, Margibi County.
The Liberia News Agency quoted authorities of the Crime Services Division of the LNP as saying, that about eight persons including two females were part of several people arrested so far after the Thursday, June 27, 2024, incident in the vicinity of the Salala Rubber Corporation.
It can be recalled that on June 21, 2024, tappers of the SRC filed a 13-count call for better working conditions including housing, medication, and ambulance service, among others with the company’s management through their union’s leadership.
However, in response to their grievances, the management of SRC considered six of the 13 counts while the remaining were to be handled through a pending Collective Bargaining Agreement (CBA) that is expected to be negotiated between the workers union, the Ministry of Labor and General Agricultural and Allied Workers Union (GAAWUL).
However, following the tapper’s five days of go-slow action, they decided to resume work on Tuesday of this week while further discussions were ongoing with management and the union leadership to derive a decision to pay for the five days the tappers lost as a result of their go-slow action.
Mary Boimah, the first female head of the union’s leadership at the SRC expressed shock and dismay over the manner and form in which the tappers overly reacted to the situation.
Boimah said the union leadership and management were in a final negotiation on the payment for the five days lost and the general manager rejected the idea of paying for it and regretted the incident and called for an immediate and speedy investigation and those who will be found culpable will face the law.
“I will not condone acts of violence that will bring about the damaging of the company’s properties”, she stated.
The suspects include Nowah Gibson, 50, arrested with four bags of rice from the company’s warehouse, Joseph Tokpah, 40, and Anthony Williams, 38.
Two of the suspects, Joseph Tokpah and Anthony Williams who are all tappers from estate #1 of the company were seen in the factory actively engaged with the situation early Thursday morning.
One of the main ring leaders of the tappers who led the group to attack the company, a Nigerian national, who on the day attempted to stab the general manager of the SRC, Okoro and the rest are on the run from just.
The Police Support Unit (PSU) of the Liberia National Police has since been deployed in the area and is in hot pursuit of the remaining tappers involved in the incident at the SRC.
The Weala area is noted to be a violent-prone area in recent history, about three years ago, on April 1, 2021 residents in the area attacked and burned down public facilities including the Baypolu Magisterial Court and the police depot and other private homes.
Meanwhile, the eight persons are now being processed and expected to be forwarded to court for prosecution.
