A renowned Liberian sketch artist and cartoonist, Leslie Lumeh, who is most famous for his paintings and courtroom sketches of former warlords and individuals who participated in the Liberian civil war says he fears for his life, as he recently faced threats and verbal attacks.
Lumeh, who in his recent work done in the French city of Paris with New Narratives, partnering with Civitas Maxima, a Swiss-based group working independently at the international level as a legal representative of victims of war crimes and crimes against humanity, has come under verbal attack from individuals purporting to be representing the interest of well-known former warlord and now sitting senator of Nimba County in Liberia, Prince Yormie Johnson.
Johnson is a powerful man in Liberia. Prior to the Liberian presidential and general elections in 2017, which brought to power the Coalition for Democratic Change (CDC), of which a merger was entered into between the Congress for Democratic Change (CDC), the former ruling National Patriotic Party (NPP), and the Liberia People Democratic Party (LPDP).
On the morning of October 28th 2022, individuals acting in Johnson's stead approached Lumeh threatening him and calling him out of all the sketches he had drawn.
"I was shocked. I mean, amazed but frightened when I was approached by these guys in a black Nissan Patrol suburban jeep which drove by with the car window being down, at which time a gentleman seated next to the driver in the car pointed his left index finger at me," Leslie said.
"He said, 'Hey Leslie Lumeh. You are doing a good work going around drawing Mandingo people all around the world in courtrooms, but I assure you, you will not have the chance to draw any Gio man, or Prince Johnson in any war crimes court, just so you know,'" he said as the car's tinted window went up, and it drove off.
But Johnson, in a phone conversation, told the Daily Observer that he does not know Lumeh and has no interest in targeting him.
"Those who are prosecuting people for war crimes in Europe and America know that a war crimes court cannot happen in Liberia because of the law that grants amnesty for all warring factions and perpetrators of the Liberian civil war. If that law were repealed to make way for the war crimes court, the law would not be retroactive.
"Me, I am 70 years old. What am I going to do in France? But for those who are still pushing for war crimes court and prosecution, that is their way if making money. I have no problem with that. Just take my name out of it, because I have no problem with anybody, except with President George Weah, for the way he is handling the country. And for that, I have taken my support from him."
While Senator Johnson's response might present a stance of plausible deniability of the threats experienced by Lumeh, the artist remains warned by the fact that those who issued the threats -- whether on behalf of or in the interest of former warlords, or in whoever else's interest -- remain at large and could act on their threats at any time.
In November of 2022, the artist experienced two incidents of drive-by threats, the first was opposite the Invincible Sports Park, not far from a place where the artist offers consultancy services for an international non-governmental organization (NGO).
The second drive-by took place around the Duport Road community, not far away from where Leslie lives. "So, it's most likely that these individuals now know where I work as well as where I live!" Leslie said.
Since those incidents, Leslie says, he has lived in fear each day, looking over his shoulders, walking and living in fear because of the kind of man he knows the senator to be, and his political proximity and leverage, which the senator wielded to bring the CDC government to power.
He said, "you and I know that Prince Johnson is a sitting senator. He is powerful, and well-connected, especially being one of those who helped the current government of footballer George Weah to win the presidency. With this government, anything is possible. They can harm me and what will come out of it? They control the country, the stomach of the poor, and even those wanting to harm others for money, so who am I?" asked Leslie.
More so, Leslie said, "we are in an election year and guns and ammunition are being found in containers, which frightens me."
According to Lumeh, "I first went over to the Liberia National Police headquarters, on capitol hill, when the first threat occurred, and now has a case file established, including a case number."
He said he has communicated with diplomatic missions to update them on the threats to his person.
Leslie says he has also reached out to the Global Justice and Research Project (GJRP) and New Narratives, as a way of ensuring protection and seeking some form of guarantee for his safety..
GJRP is a Liberian-based nonprofit, nongovernmental organization that documents war-related crimes in Liberia, and where possible, seeking justice for victims of crimes against humanity, with the full consent of the victims which was established in 2012,
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New Narratives is a US-based nonprofit organization that supports independent newsrooms in low-income countries with journalism funding and business transformation that delivers journalism that arms citizens with the power to keep leaders accountable, build an inclusive society and drive change.
However, Leslie said none of those he reached out to were able to give him any form of assurance or guarantee of keeping him safe and aiding him to seek justice.
Therefore he said he feels neglected, should any harm be brought upon him. He said he is reminded of Madam Justina Taylor, who had to flee the country after being attacked for exposing the sitting city Mayor, Jefferson Koijee.
Not only that, according to Leslie, "we were here and Mr. Innis from the Central Bank was murdered in the dark for attempting to expose individuals connected to donor money, US$25 million mop-up exercise and printing of L$16 billion in new bank notes. Also, auditors from the Internal Audit Agency (IAA) and the Liberia Revenue Authority (LRA), too, were murdered in thin air without any investigation, so I am afraid for my life."
