The Inquirer (Monrovia)
C. Winnie Saywah & Garmonyou Wilson
3 April 2008
Armed men have again attacked the Paynesville community leaving a man identified as Harrison Paye dead in the Pipeline area.
According to eyewitnesses, Mr. Paye met his untimely demise when he went to the aid of a tenant in his compound.
Relatives of the victim told the Inquirer that they recognized one of the murder suspects in the alleged arm robbery attack as one who had lived in the compound with his family before, but that the boy was told by his family to leave the apartment because residents there knew him to be involved in criminal activities.
Narrating the fate of the deceased, the family source said that upon hearing the screams of a tenant around 2-3:00 a.m., Paye left his apartment in a bid to know what was going on, but was attacked by alleged robbers who beat him with their cutlasses.
Upon receiving wounds from the attackers, Paye, trying to flee from his assailants yelled the name of the boy only known as Papay and ran in a nearby lake.
Unfortunately for Mr. Paye, the wounds sustained by him during the attack caused him to bleed profusely thereby causing his untimely death in the very water that he tried to use as an escape route.
At dawn the following day, relatives and friends alike found the body of Mr. Paye. The boy whose name was called by the victim is one whom almost all the neighbors were familiar with therefore he was apprehended moments later by the Police in the same community where the incident took place.
The police was able to arrest two of the alleged suspects and they were taken to Zone Five Deport 3 Police Station for investigation. The situation then took another trend when a mob of angry community sympathizers raided the police station in an attempt to revenge the death of their fallen neighbor only to realize that the suspects had been transferred to another depot.
It is yet to be established and observers said that due to the officers' failure to produce the two suspects in their detention, the residents became furious and indignant and therefore set ablaze the police depot.
However, the nine police officers who were on duty at the Zone Five Depot 3 Police Station early yesterday morning escaped without any injury.
Police could not comment on the issue up to press time because according to them reports into the armed robbery attempt, the murder of Mr. Paye and the arson attack on the police station are yet to be established.
Armed robbery and the security of citizens are two issues that remain lingering on the agenda of the Ellen-led government as it still feels secured with the presence of peacekeepers in the country but the issue is that the commoners are the only victims especially as the country is going through a period of hardship.
Just as Liberians with cutlasses were at the late Paye's residence early yesterday morning, another group of three armed men and an additional eight with cutlasses were in the Rehab community where the Vice President, Joseph Boakai resides, on April 1, 2008 raging terror on the poor residents.
According to victim Francis Yoryor, those men, all Liberians wearing masks and weave-on burst into his residence behind the VP's residence and deprived him of all his valuables including his wedding ring, cell phone and a vehicle.
He said the men who spoke in clear Liberian tongue became very aggressive and beat up his younger brother and even stepped on his neck. He stated further that the men were believed to be about 20-37 years of age and strong enough to work for themselves.
Francis said he still imagines the horror of seeing men in dark clothes with machetes over him and his family especially at that time of the night.
He explained that after the men had looted all of his items, they placed him along with his siblings in one of the rooms and locked the door placing all of the items including extension coil, stabilizer, clothes as well as monies in both the Liberian and United States Dollars of which he cannot out rightly say the sum of the amount and escaped in his own car.
Still in his state of confusion, Francis said noticing that the bandits have left they managed to open the door and he ran quickly to the home of VP Boakai but after his explanations, he requested that the security inform the police at the nearby depot.
He narrated that to his surprise he was informed by the VP security that their mobile phones batteries were not charged and that they did not have cell phones to even make a call. Francis said he then went to the ELWA Depot and was also informed by the officers on shift that due to their incapacity they could not go on the crime scene. He said and truly there were only two police officers present.
Francis said still in search of a security to come to his rescue, he went to the Zone Five Depot based in Joe Bar and the police there only fumbled that they had no fuel and in fact their patrol vehicle had no tires.
He said, "Not until 8:30-9:00 when an UNMIL vehicle came and the police joined and followed me to my home in Rehab where they only remained in the vehicle and asked a list of questions, took photos of a 65 year-old woman who was chopped from the house next to mine and they finally left."
"As for the Central Police Station, I can say that I am extremely disappointed and confused. Can you imagine every time I go there I will have to explain my story to another police officer because all he can say is that he was not the one on shift or at the desk therefore he does not know my story," victim Francis recalled with frustration.
He added, "Government should be able to protect us. We are paying taxes and now we have been asked to pay hut taxes but why pay such taxes when our homes are terrorized and nothing is done to curtail such gruesome acts?
"Our brothers should stop making our country an embarrassment for us all to live in. Liberia is becoming very much unsafe even more than the days of war. But there can only be a solution when government tries to find jobs for the young people especially those on the streets," Francis suggested.
However, he is requesting government to help him retrieve his vehicle marked TX-4292, a yellow Nissan 1.3 sedan and his wedding band, which according to him is his commitment to his dear wife.
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May Harrison's soul rest in peace.
Most of us in the Diaspora, especially in the US always dream of returning home to help with the reconstruction and developement of our beloved country, Liberia. Most of us here are happy that peace finally returned to Liberia after the elections in which Ma Ellen was elected.
My questions are, when will our Iron Lady be tough enough to stop the killings of innoncent people for their possessions? What wrong with the justice system that are in place to punish these criminals when they are caught? The Police Director knowns what to do with these criminals, since she came from the US and lived in one of the most crime infested cities? Why the international coummunity spent millions of dollars to train and reorganize the Liberian Police Force? Where are the so-called Human Rights Watch Dogs, who who may complain about human rights voilations when these killers (armed robbers) are caught and dealt with the African way?
If the government does not step in strong to stop the killings, lot of Liberians who are getting ready to pack and return home may change their minds.
If ones are targets when coming home to visit or to burry love ones in their motherland, then there's no need of coming to Liberia. It's like coming to commit suicide.
James Horace
May Harrison Paye Rest in peace. I am sorry for his death. may he be loved
Thanks alot...Today he will be put to rest....Our family is holding on strong..
I am from Nimba county and presently living in the state of New Jersey the name paye sound like a nimbanian,be it from nimba or Bassa I am deeply hurt to hear that Liberian are killing people just for their own property at this time again,that is a shame.let the peace loving liberian try to group themselves in every communities to protect one another from those senseless animals.And there should be a community law that will allow the people in the community to burn any one cought arm-robbering.we all want to go back home and build some foundation for our children. some investers also want to visit liberia but how will they go there when there is no security in the country? my advice for the President is she must focus on security of the people not to make the same mistake that the late Samuel Kanyon Doe made by listining to lies from security officers and arresting people for nothing.
This is a serious problem to address urgently.We the Liberians in the Americas,wishes to come home but with news of arm struggle we can't come home.I was so shock when my wife returned to Liberia last thursday.I sent a friend to meet her at the RIA but her joy was turn to sorry.Upon her arrival to Liberia,my friend took her through red-light to make a call to me and tell me she did arrived.She called me we talked but at the end of the call the phone went off.Two hours later I got a call that some body came running between them and took the phone away in her ear.They ran after him but couldn't get him.Her fist time in Liberia!This is some thing we will have to arrest as it prints out a bad image on the outside of our country.We do agree that Liberia is struggleing but stealing is not the best way out talk about less about armrubbers.We want to come home and help develope Mama Liberia but we just can't,we don't want to be kill.Please Madam President,try and help us to come home!
My name is Harriett PAYE AND HARRISON WAS MY UNCLE..THIS IS A SAD SITUATION. EVEN THOUGH I LEFT LIBERIA WHEN I WAS 7 AOW 20, I STILL THINK ABOUT MY COUNTRY AS MY HOMELAND AND WANT TO GO HOME ONE OF THESE DAYS. EVEN THOUGH I DON'T REMEMBER MUCH ABOUT UNCLE HARRISON I ONLY HEARD GREAT THINGS ABOUT HIM, AND WHEN WE SPOKE ON THE PHONE HE WOULD ALWAYS ASK ME WHEN I WAS COMEING TO SEE HIM AND NOT OT FORGET ABOUT HIM. I PREY THAT OUR NEW PRESIDENT TAKES OVER AND HELP STOP ALL THE CRIMES BY MAKEING NEW LAWS. I FEEL IT IS UP TO US YOUNG LIBERIANS TO TAKE OVER AND SPEAK UP, WITH THE KNOWDLEDGE WE ARE FEED WITH TODAY WE NEED TO TAKE A STAND FOR OUR COUNTRY, SO ANOTHER SOUL WON'T HAVE TO SUFFER.
note to my uncle: STORIES OF YOU IS ALL I HAVE TO REMEMBER A PERCHIOUS VOICE, A DAUGHTER WILL NEVER FORGET. AS GOD CALLED YOU HAD TO CHOICE BUT TO ANSWER, BUT A CALLING LIKE THIS WE HAVE NO CHOICE BUT TO MOURN. DON'T LOOK BACK AS YOU ENTER THOESE GATES, LOOK HEAD THAT'S WHERE WE'LL BE. YOUR CHILDREN ARE ALL IN GREAT HANDS AND YOUR WIFE TOO. THANKS FOR TAKING CARE OF ME WHEN I WAS A YOUNG CHILD, TO RETURN YOUR BABIES WILL BE WELL TAKEN CARE OF. I LOVE YOU AND ALWAYS WILL.. LOVE LADYGIRL
RIP.. UNCLE HARRISON