The National Youth Assembly of the People’s Liberation Party (PLP) has given the Government of Liberia (GOL) a 72-hour ultimatum to allow the helicopter of its Political Leader, Dr. Daniel E. Cassell, to land in the country.
The group threatened to lead a campaign to ensure a “popular uprising of the people” if the Coalition for Democratic Change (CDC) led-government of President George Manneh Weah fails to do so.
The PLP and the government, through the Liberia Civil Aviation Authority (LCAA), have been caught in rigmarole, making claims and counter claims over the saga.
The PLP claims that its Political Leader and Vision Bearer. Dr. Daniel E. Cassell, through his company, Kwenyan and Associates, met all legal requirements and was given a permit by the LCAA for the helicopter to land in the country, but said permit was surreptitiously revoked for unknown reasons barely a day after the chopper attempted landing in the country.
The party took the matter to the Supreme Court of Liberia, and the government has denied issuing a permit for the helicopter to land into the country.
“LCAA notes that at no time did Kwenyan & Associates Group of Companies request for landing permit to the LCAA, for which they filed a writ of prohibition. The group’s application for an Air Service License is still being reviewed by the LCAA, in keeping with the Liberia Civil Aviation and relevant international regulations, and is pending the fulfillment of all the requirements,” a release issued by the Ministry of Information, Cultural Affairs and Tourism (MICAT) stated.
But in a statement issued in Monrovia late Monday, October 25, the National Youth Assembly of the PLP claimed that the failure of the Liberian government to allow the helicopter, owned by its Political Leader, to land in the country violates his Constitutional rights. The group pointed to Articles 11, 17 and 22 of the 1986 Liberian Constitution.
Article 11(a) of the Constitution states that “all persons are born equally free and independent and have certain natural, inherent and inalienable rights, among which are the right of enjoying and defending life and liberty, of pursuing and maintaining and security of the person and of acquiring, possessing and protecting property, subject to such qualifications as provided for in this Constitution”.
Article 17 (a) notes that “all persons, at all times, in an orderly and peaceable manner, shall have the right to assemble and consult upon the common good to instruct their representatives, to petition the government or other functionaries for the redress of grievances and to associate fully with others or refuse to associate in political parties, trade unions and other organizations”.
Article 22 (a) states, “Every person shall have the right to own property alone as well as in association with others; provided that only Liberian citizens shall have the right to own real property within the Republic.”
“The National Youth Assembly of the PLP is greatly concerned by the constant violation of these rights of its Political Leader, amongst which is the right to legally acquire property. By this, we are demanding the unconditional landing of the helicopter licensed and owned by the Kwenyan Groups of Companies within 72 hours or there will be a popular uprising of the Liberian people against this clueless and irresponsible government, in order to ensure the right to legally acquire property by any Liberian citizen is protected at all times and not only by the Weah-led government but governments to come.
“The Government of George Weah has stepped on the tail of a scorpion and must be ready to face the consequences as we will sting where it hurts the most,” the PLP Youth Assembly said sternly.
The group indicated that “it is an open truth that President Weah continues to misuse the mandate to lead our people, as he has misguided individuals who purport themselves only based on greed and personal aggrandizement”.
It added that though the party remains a responsible political establishment, the PLP will not be seen as “weaklings” in this saga.
“Our Political Leader, Dr. Daniel E. Cassell, did not come to bleed the national coffers of this country but came with his personal, hard-earned wealth to ensure that all is done to relieve the suffering masses from this ugly nightmare of misrule and inept government, headed by an indecisive George Weah.”
The group maintained that the public must understand that it is no crime to be wealthy, especially when such wealth is being used to emancipate the underprivileged.
“The Aircraft purchased by Dr. Daniel E. Cassell under Kwenyan Group of Companies is not money stolen from state coffer but an earnest means to draft the lives of our people in the parallel direction of having access to opportunity that has been denied them due to lack of road connectivity, bad governance, as our mothers in Gbokongedeh, Kanpleh, Gbogeseh Town and other places continue to lose their lives due to cheap illnesses.”
The Youth Assembly maintained that the helicopter is not intended to be used as intimidation to the government, but serve as a mean of helping Liberians and others who believe that Dr. Cassell should be seen as a hero and true son of this soil.
The youths of the PLP added that it is a proud thing to see a single Liberian acquiring a helicopter, without stealing from the Liberian people, which has never been done in the history of the country.
“It is now the time for us to put aside politics and personal interest and work for the benefits of all Liberians. The National Youth Assembly of the PLP sends out this warning, that we are not jokers as we shall take to the streets in protestation to ensure that this aircraft is allowed to land freely, and any other attempt to hinder the process we will be very radical and stringent.”
“This is a mean to trample on our rights as Liberians and every Liberian should now join the PLP to protest against this act of injustice. We will not be silent any more as our lives will mean nothing unless what is right is done. This nation belongs to everyone of us, and George Weah should understand this, ‘that being President doesn’t make you a super human’.”
The group reminded Liberians that Dr. Cassell earned his personal wealth outside government, unlike the wealth of the soccer legend turned-politician who allegedly squandered all of his earnings during his football days, and is now “depleting our nation’s resources with his cronies and friends through the building of condominiums around the country”.
“We would also like to inform the public that the Kwenyan Group of Companies is a legally registered institution that has and continues to provide jobs for thousands of Liberians and foreign nationals in the diaspora, including our beloved country. The aircraft (Bell 430), with the registration ZT-RJA and serial numbers 49075, was legally purchased from a renowned South African aircraft corporation, National Airways of South Africa, which a beggar, in person of Moses Y. Kollie, was aware of—all the process in acquiring this aircraft—and he even recommended this company.
“This con artist and petit hustler, Kollie, is also in the know of all the necessary documentations, including international aviation requirements regarding the purchase of this aircraft. It is no more a secret that George Weah and his co-operative, in person of Mr. Moses Y. Kollie, has cluelessly, callously, and deliberately deprived Dr. Daniel E. Cassell and his company of the Constitutional and inalienable right of landing permit as an attempt to bar other political parties from using the airspace as a plot to cleverly continue to perpetuate themselves into power”.
The Assembly maintained that the life of its Political Leader, Dr. Cassell, remains a paramount concern as there have been several attacks due to envy and mere jealousy. The group renewed calls for the international community to intervene into the matter.
“If anything shall go wrong we want the international community to know that it is the plot of this President and his co-operatives to destroy lives cheaply as they continue to show zero interest in investigating ritualistic killings and the mysterious disappearances of our people,” the youth assembly continued.
Under Mr. Weah’s leadership, the PLP Youth Assembly stated, Liberia continues to experience a putrefying economy that disallows the economic freedom of all Liberians living in its territorial boundaries, and increasing hardship that has devastatingly engulfed the population with an unprecedented speed.
“Lastly, the National Youth Assembly of the People’s Liberation Party wants to make this unequivocally clear, that we will not succumb to any form of counterproductive attitude from government against our political leader and humble servant, Dr. Daniel E. Cassell.
“We are calling on all our partisans, district structures, auxiliary groups, well-wishers and sympathizers within the length and breadth of the country to join us in ensuring the government adheres to our demand. With fearlessness and determination, with meekness and assurance, with faith in the promise of tomorrow, let us march straight together, enduring supporters in the cause of a Liberia that is more peaceful, more flourishing and more just.”