16 November 2009
A group calling itself "Friends of Wilson Tarpeh" says it owes Congress for Democracy Change leader George Weah squarely responsible for the defeat of their candidate in the first round of the senatorial by-elections.
Spokespersons of the group told reporters that Weah's "malicious misrepresentation" of Prof. Tarpeh during CDC's campaign trail in the slum communities of West Point, New Kru and Clara Town, threw most of their former potential voters off guard.
"Many of our young people, and most residents of the slum communities, love sports and would do everything to sell their loved ones just for the game," Mr. James S. Kieh, who claims to be Chairman of the group said.
"So when Mr. Weah went to these communities and told the lie that Tarpeh as Minister of Finance frustrated Lone Star's chances in international engagements for alleging refusing to pay him (Weah) back for cost incurred for the encounters, many believed him and tendered their protest vote against the University professor."
Like the CDC, Tarpeh's ADP draws most of its political strength from the slum communities, a reason why, according to the "Friends of Tarpeh" Weah might have launched the deadline propaganda attack against Tarpeh. During regular campaign rallies in Township of West Point and the Borough of New Kru Town, Congress for Democratic Change (CDC) George Weah openly discredited Alliance for Peace and Democracy (APD) in the ensuing Montserrado By-elections, Professor Wilson Tarpeh.
Weah, who had flown from Florida, United States of America, to show solidarity with his CDC Candidate, Geraldine Doe-Sheriff, persuaded an assembly of New Kru town and West Point residents considered as strongholds of the party (CDC) as well as the APD that they should not believe in Tarpeh because he is not "reliable" as he once betrayed him.
Resorting to speaking in his native dialect of Kru in West Point, Weah, a formal footballer who won laurels but joined politics in 2005, asserted that during the administration of the Sawyer-led Interim regime in where Candidate Tarpeh served as Minister of Finance, he robbed him of US$50,000.00 and is requesting that amount back.
Weah claimed that he paid the amount of US$100,000 to honor an away match for the Lone Star of Liberia due to unsafe condition to host a match in Liberia, and promised to absolve 50% of that amount which is $ 50,000.00 and that the Liberian Government was going to pay the balance of US$50,000.00.
CDC Weah indicated further that Tarpeh, as Minister of Finance at the time, assured him that the amount would be raised and paid. Relying on this statement, he said he paid the US$100,000 to take the Lone Star to the game. Upon his return to Liberia, Weah alleged he made all efforts to recover this amount but to no avail, alleging that when he went to Tarpeh at the Finance Ministry, he (Tarpeh) told him (Weah) there was no money.
Weah's attack on Prof. Tarpeh, some pundits say, came as it was reported that the APD candidate, Tarpeh, was massively attracting CDC voters in its strongholds and if nothing was done quickly, CDC would have lost the vital areas.
It may be recalled that during the 2005 presidential and general elections, APD Tarpeh endorsed Weah's candidacy against Unity Party candidate, Ellen Johnson Sirleaf after he lost the senatorial election. That endorsement was never rejected but warmly received.
Though Tarpeh himself could not be reached to clarify, his campaign team member, Cllr. Negbalee Warner said they and their acclaimed candidate, Prof. Wilson Tarpeh respect Mr. Weah but believed the statement attributed to Weah was either a misunderstanding or that "he himself misspoke".
However, Jacob Jallah, a staunched Tarpeh supporter said the Ambassador lacked the fundamental understanding of budgeting by equating a phone conversation to the payment of US$50,000 without accounting procedures.
"Now that our man is out of the race, principally due to a vicious lie told, nature demands that we that nearly 18,000 pro-Tarpeh vote also give Weah and his CDC a protest vote," Jallah said. "This we will ensure to do. We must pay evil back."
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