The NEWS (Monrovia)
C. Emmanuel Johnson
5 September 2008
Monrovia — The Liberty Party has rejected an investigative commission set up by President Ellen Johnson-Sirleaf to probe an alleged e-mail scandal linking several officials of the Unity Party led government.
The party said it rejects the commission because those appointed to it lack the requisite expertise to fairly conduct an inquiry into the matter.
Speaking to The News Thursday, Liberty Party Chairman Israel Akinsayah said the commission, comprising of the Liberia Bar Association, Press Union of Liberia, Catholic Justice and Peace Commission (JPC) and two unidentified former investigators would not be credible in the conduct of the investigation on grounds that those involved in the alleged scandal are key government officials and the possibility of the commission protecting their interest was great.
"Investigators who are not internationally credited would secure the interest of President Johnson-Sirleaf and her officials rather than that of the Liberian people," he added.
Mr. Akinsayah expressed his party's regret over the setting up of the commission by the President after they had earlier called on the government to prevail on the International Contact Group on Liberia (ICGL) to formulate an independent body that would go to the bottom of the alleged e-mail bribery scandal which was published by the frontpageafrica web magazine on August 20, 2008.
Consequently, Mr. Akinsayah disclosed that the party is in consultation with other political parties including the Congress for Democratic Change to schedule a meeting with President Johnson-Sirleaf in order to persuade her to rescind the decision or recompose the commission.
Barely three days ago, President Johnson-Sirleaf constituted a commission comprising of three civil society organizations to probe a bribery scandal allegedly involving several senior officials and the Liberia International Ship Corporate Registry (LISCR).
The frontpageafrica publication identified former Presidential Affairs Minister Willis Knuckles as the driving force behind the US$1million bribery scam while Justice Minister Philip Banks, Maritime Affairs Commissioner Beyan Kesseley, Jr. and the President's brother-in-law Estrada Bernard as direct beneficiaries.
In the wake of the scandal, the Liberty Party released an earlier statement calling on the President to request the ICGL to set up an independent commission to launch an inquiry into the matter since those linked were officials of government.
With the present investigation yet to get underway, the frontpageafrica, on August 31, 2008, threw another bombshell by linking the President's Special Aide, Madina Wesseh and Willis Knuckles to other alleged acts of corruption.
Be the first to Write a Comment!
Copyright © 2008 The NEWS. All rights reserved. Distributed by AllAfrica Global Media (allAfrica.com). To contact the copyright holder directly for corrections — or for permission to republish or make other authorized use of this material, click here.
AllAfrica aggregates and indexes content from over 125 African news organizations, plus more than 200 other sources, who are responsible for their own reporting and views. Articles and commentaries that identify allAfrica.com as the publisher are produced or commissioned by AllAfrica.
