The Political Leader of the People’s Liberation Party (PLP), Dr. Daniel E. Cassell, has blamed the growing wave of mysterious killings in Liberia on the failure of state security actors to carry on their assigned tasks and responsibilities in an effective and efficient manner.
In less than a month, post-conflict Liberia has witnessed the gruesome murders in cold blood of John Hilary Tubman, William R. Tolbert, III, and Maude Elliot.
Tubman, 76, son of former President William V.S. Tubman, was found dead in his Fiamah residence in Sinkor. He was found lying face down in his room during the early afternoon hours of September 22, with deep cuts to his neck and forehead, and with a pillow placed over his head, according to family sources.
A nephew of Tubman, William Tucker, said his uncle had scheduled an appointment with Tony Hage, a Lebanese business tycoon, on Wednesday, September 22, 2021.
Early Tuesday, November 2, the Government of Liberia (GOL), through the Minister of Information, Cultural Affairs and Tourism (MICAT), Ledgerhood Rennie, confirmed the death of Rev. William R. Tolbert, III, youngest son of ex-President William R. Tolbert, Jr., who was killed in a bloody coup led by Master Sergeant Samuel Kanyon Doe on April 12, 1980. He was found dead at his home in Monrovia on October 31.
William R. Tolbert, III was retained as National Peace Ambassador of Liberia following the inauguration of the Coalition for Democratic Change (CDC) government of President George Manneh Weah.
Maude Elliot, an officer of the Personnel Department of the Liberia Immigration Service (LIS), was killed in cold blood by unknown persons at her Brewerville residence, outside Monrovia during the night hours of Sunday, October 31.
Neighbors and family members found her lying unconscious in a pool of blood with bruises and cuts on her neck and forehead shortly after the incident.
The victim was pronounced dead at the John F. Kennedy Medical Hospital in Sinkor, Monrovia, where she was taken for advanced medical checkup and subsequent treatment.
But in a statement issued in Monrovia on Thursday, November 4, 2021, Dr. Cassell observed that state security actors are very weak under the Coalition for Democratic Change (CDC) government of President George Manneh Weah. He underscored the need for government to take full responsibility of the happenings, instead of politicizing or shifting blame.
“The prevalent savagery onslaught on fellow citizens by wild murderers who cannot be tracked down in real-time certainly suggests that the security forces of the state are extremely weak, and suffices to say the government is incapable of providing security for its people. Thus, I wish to emphasize that a government that is derelict and often defaults on its Constitutional responsibility to ensure the safety and well-being of its people is certainly unfit to govern,” Dr. Cassell has said bluntly.
He added that, with the current high scale of terror being afflicted on the Liberian people by murderers, it is apparently clear that the security of the citizenry is not a priority for the George Weah government.
He observed that these Liberians were killed by those he called “barbaric and murderous elements who are yet to be identified by state security forces”.
Dr. Cassell noted that the continued gruesome and mysterious murdering of fellow citizens is becoming pervasive and spurring fear and trauma amongst the citizenry.
He maintained that no Liberian or foreigner life must be taken, especially in such bloody fashion.
Dr. Cassell recalled that, a month ago, Liberia and its citizens were saddled with the horrifying wave of ritualistic killings by evil-minded people, with dreadful images and videos displayed on social media.
“When the government was condemned for failing to protect the people from these bloodthirsty killers,” he disclosed, “government summoned the audacity to deny the reports of ritualistic killings and contended that the news of a rising wave of mysterious killings was erroneous and propaganda crafted and heralded by the opposition community to intentionally defame and cast a spell on the government’s image. I wonder what the government will say regarding the gruesome killing of these citizens.”
He further demanded the government, through its relevant security agencies, to launch a speedy investigation in these “chilling murders with a view of ensuring that the wicked perpetrators are tracked down and brought before the court of law”.
“I caution the administration that, instead of politicizing the brutal and mysterious deaths of citizens, it must take responsibility for defaulting on its Constitutional responsibility to protect the citizenry and place them at the risk of being decimated by wicked elements who feed on human blood and flesh,” stated the PLP Political Leader.
He, however, expressed condolences to the bereaved families on behalf of the PLP and in his own name. Dr. Cassell expressed the hope and fervent prayer that God will give them solace and daring strength during this period of devastation and painstaking grief.