In RIA Drug Importation Saga: Weah’s Chief Of Protocol Suffers Character Assassination; As “Manifest” Displayed Shows Finda Bondo, Not Finda Bundoo

On its Wednesday broadcast, the Spoon Talk published a document they believed to be the manifest of the airline that brought on board the illicit drug, methamphetamine, on flight #KQ508 on August 31, 2023 with the name Finda Bondo as the consignee of a shipment described as “personal effect”. Other consignees on the list include Bea Mountain, Silson Global, Safeway Cargo, Biomedical, The Flower Pot, etc.

   This document has since stirred up a national embarrassment about the Chief of Protocol of the Executive Mansion being the owner of the illicit consignment, linking the dangerous goods to her boss, President George M. Weah, whom many claim is fully aware of the drug importation.

   The allegation, coupled with many other perceptions, has led to several calls for the dismissal of the RIA Chief of Security and the Chief of Protocol of the Executive Mansion. 

   Recently, the Ministry of Justice, through the Joint Security of Liberia, laid the argument to rest about whether the consignment was of Moringa leaf or drugs, confirming that the consignment of boxes it intercepted containing herbal plants—packaged and in natural form—at the Roberts International Airport (RIA) reveals a presence of methamphetamine, an illicit drug banned under the rules of United Nations Office of Drugs and Crimes (UNODC).

   The Minister of Justice, Cllr. Frank Musah Dean, Jr., then ordered the Joint Security of Liberia, as well as the Liberia Drug Enforcement Agency (LDEA), the Liberia National Police (LNP) and the National Security Agency (NSA) to expand their investigation on the importation of the illegal drug to bring to justice all those involved.

   However, a careful observation by the public has raised the question of the validity of the airline manifest: the name of the Chief of Protocol is spelled, “Finda Bondo”, while the actual spelling of her name is, “Nora Finda Bundoo”. It is being argued that it possible that she may have left her first name out, as she is most times called “Finda”; but to misspell her surname is highly impossible.

   Nora Finda Bundoo, according to investigation, is the daughter of veteran ELBC language news presenter, Elijah Tamba Bundoo, and their surname is spelled differently from the name that appears on the Spoon Talk document.

   Unfortunately, the document has no photograph on it indicating the actual person it refers to, but many may have pointed accusing fingers to the Chief of Protocol because of the popularity of her name. It could also be a propaganda machinery by members of the opposition to get at President Weah, as the 2023 general and presidential elections are only a few days from now.

   From all indications, it appears like the airline manifest is either doctored or the name refers to Finda Bondo and not Finda Bundoo, the Chief of Protocol.

To release parcels at the airport, the RIA requires that one presents a valid identification or, most often, passport. And if the name on one’s passport contradicts the one on the airline’s manifest, the goods is confiscated by the custom office.

   A legal luminary told the Hot Pepper that misspelling of name may not be as simple as it sounds, as it causes change of identity and obstructs one from their entitlement. He recalled years back when the then Chief Justice of the Supreme Court, Cllr. Johnnie Lewis, invited managing editors and news editors to his chambers over the way his name was spelled in a number of news outlets. He requested that they take a pen and a piece of sheet, spelling out his name to them. He warned that the next time any news outlet misspells his name the outlet would face a contempt charge, and the editor of that institution sent to the Monrovia Central Prison.

   According to the legal practitioner, this incident was over individuals misspelling a person’s name, and the consequences are far less than one misspelling his own name.

   The lawyer observed that the document published by Spoon Talk is either doctored or the name does not refer to the President’s Chief of Protocol, as it is impossible for her to misspell her own name on a document that requires her passport for authentication. “I wonder if the Spoon Talk panelists know how Finda Bundoo spells her name before linking her to the document they published, or if they know the legal implication of tailoring a document to falsely implicate someone,” the lawyer wondered.

   It can be recalled that the Chief of Protocol of the Executive Mansion, Nora Finda Bundoo, recently distanced herself from the imported items (legal or illegal), noting that she is not a consignee to any parcel of goods at the RIA.

   Also, President George M. Weah, too, has dismissed the accusation that his government may be contributing to the growing cases of drug-related addictions across the country.

The President, while addressing supporters in Gbarnga, Bong County, noted that the allegation is untrue, and that the fact remains that the issue of drug abuse has been an age-old problem which cannot be blamed on his administration.

   President Weah claimed that drugs have been in Liberia from the time he was young, but his government is doing well in cracking down on the trade by passing some of the harshest drug laws the country has ever had, arresting traffickers and prosecuting drug-related cases.