Quite recently, the Hot Pepper published a back-page lead story in which the Chairperson of the Independent National Human Rights Commission (INHRC), Cllr. Dempster Brown, was allegedly linked to corruption at the institution.
In its Friday, April 5, 2024 edition, the Hot Pepperpublished that Cllr. Dempster Brown, following itsinvestigation from August 2021 to July 2022, was allegedly receiving the salaries of Commissioner James D. Torh and Atty. Adolphus S. Wade, who no longer work for the commission.
This paper’s investigation summed up the salaries of Commissioners Torh and Atty. Wade to at least US$29,810 and US$35,761.2 for the eleven-month period. Hot Pepper’s investigation revealed that Cllr. Brown allegedly received in total of US$71,582.4.
Not only that, the paper’s report further accused the Chairperson of the INHRC, Cllr. Brown, of taking the salaries of ghost names on the commission’s payroll, in persons of Bai B. Fahnbulleh and Janet P. Johnson (who died in 2020), as their names were kept on the payroll up to 2022.
This media outlet’s investigation made mention also of Abdu-humid Kiawou, dismissed in August 2021, but his name still on the INHRC’s payroll and salary allegedly diverted by Chairperson Cllr. Brown. Among other issues of corruption at the entity was the case of Richard Sieh,who resigned in October 2020 but his name was still on the payroll, and Cllr. Dr. Nieveda Ricks Omouha, one of the commissioners who got sacked and her six-month salary allegedly used by Cllr. Brown without justifiable reason.
But, countering the Hot Pepper’s story at his office in Sinkor on April 10, 2024, five days after the publication of the story, Cllr. Dempster Brown said, “The reason why we are concerned is that professionally the Hot Pepper should have gotten the side of the Chairman of the human rights commission but not to take one side of an accusation, titled, “At Human Rights Commission: Cllr. Dempster Brown Accused of Corruption”, and publish it.
He said, “On the issue of corruption at the INHRC as stated in the story, the Hot Pepper made mention of ghost names on the payroll and salaries of said ghost names,which it alleged I am withdrawing the checks and eating these monies. It makes no sense and it’s not true; where the writer came from with this story? I just don’t know.”
In the case of Commissioners James D. Torh and Atty. Adolphus S. Wade, Cllr. Brown clarified that during the tenure of the two former commissioners he was not in the employ of the INHRC, stating that before his ascendency at the entity the money in question was used by the interim leadership of the commission to buy desks and computers, and upon the expiration of their term of reference (TOR) they made away with all of the desks and computers, amongst others, for their personal aggrandizement.
He voiced that when he took over as Chairperson of the INHRC, he and his team met the entity virtually without desks, computers and other working tools, but his administration managed to source funding from government and purchase new sets of desks and computers for use by the offices of the commission.
He termed the story written by the reporter as “lawless, baseless and untrue, intended to tarnish his hard-earned reputation as a champion of human rights in Liberia. I want to infer that the reporter who wrote the story was paid or received money from someone from within the INHRC to taint my character without justifiable cause.”
Cllr. Brown revealed in his clarification that the General Auditing Commission (GAC) has conducted three separate audits at the commission based on “head-count”, and Internal Audit Agency (IAA) auditors did likewise,followed by UNDP for their grant, and found him culpable not of any form of corruption or ghost names on the commission’s payroll as was purported by his accuser and published through this medium.
“Where did he come from with this story?” Cllr. Brown wondered. “There is no corruption here at the INHRC.”
He recalled that there is an individual at the INHRC who wrote the GAC last year that there was an eminent corruption at the commission and requested the GAC to conduct an audit of the system. According to him, theaudit was carried out by the GAC and the auditors found no trace of corruption at the INHRC.
Cllr. Brown disclosed that the INHRC has been under-funded by government, lest to mention that the CDC-led administration of former President George Weah did not support the commission with the exception of the provision of salaries for the office of the chairperson,commissioners, employees and staffers.
For now, Cllr. Brown explained that, due to the lack of adequate support to smoothly run the INHRC, he has instructed the comptroller to place a freeze on new employment at the institution.
Asked to name who’s behind the tarnishing of his character at the human rights commission as it relates tothe allegation of corruption, including the ghost names onthe payroll, Cllr. Brown pointed an accusing finger at one of INHRC commissioners as the mastermind behind thespreading of the falsehood about his character in the media.
He named Commissioner Mohammed Fahnbulleh asbeing the “brains” behind the Hot Pepper’s April 5, 2024 story. Cllr. Brown said Fahnbulleh was accused by a female worker (name withheld) at the INHRC of sexual harassment and was forwarded to the Ministry of Justice for investigation.
He noted that instead of Commissioner Fahnbulleh showing up at the Justice Ministry to face a probe, he proceeded to one of the courts at the Temple of Justice, thereby undermining the sexual harassment case being levied against him by the INHRC female employee.
Not only that, Cllr. Brown alleged that Commissioner Fahnbulleh wrote all the donors not to support INHRC through the UP-led government and regional coordinators. “He even did likewise during the CDC government, and we didn’t get any money but only salaries.
“If the auditors want to come and audit INHRC, let them come and effect an audit. My hands are clean; I am not involved in any form of corruption. My conscience is clear; we get nothing to hide here. The story is a make-up story proffered by Commissioner Mohammed Fahnbulleh,meant to put my character at disrepute in the country.”