Sanniquellie, Nimba County — The Management of Radio Nimba, a community radio station based in Sanniquellie has retracted a recent story it aired, which accused the magistrate of the Zuolay Magisterial Court situated in Lower Nimba of raping a 12yr old girl.
On October 30, 2023, Radio Nimba during its 8pm evening news broadcast aired a story with headline: "Police in Tappita City, Lower Nimba are investigating a 55-year old Stipendiary Magistrate of Zuolay Magisterial Court, Wuo Queeglay for allegedly raping a 12-yr old girl in Zuolay Town, Nimba County".
Following the airing of the story, the station's management realized that its reporter, Shalon Gonlor mistakenly mentioned the current magistrate of the court instead of a former official of the Zuolay Magisterial Court, Chester Paye who was actually involved with the alleged rape incident in Zuolay.
The Management termed the story as unverified and imbalanced; noting that Magistrate Wuo Queeglay has no link to the alleged rape case.
The station acknowledged that the news story defamed the character of the magistrate and caused him unwanted embarrassment.
"The Management of Radio Nimba apologizes to the esteemed Magistrate, Wuo Queeglay that the broadcast of the story that mistakenly mentioned your name was not in any way intended to destroy your hard earned reputation and as an esteemed and senior citizen of this county, to pardon the station for this mistake as the institution is working hard to clear the airwave that the mention of your name was purely a human error and not deliberately done", Radio Nimba Management noted in a statement.
The station is urging the public not to be carried away by the false and baseless news it aired against Magistrate Queeglay, claiming that the legal luminary has committed no crime of rape.
Meanwhile, the Management of Radio Nimba has with immediate effect suspended its reporter, Shalon Gonlor for five months for what the station termed as unethical behavior.
The station's decision to suspend Reporter Shalon Gonlor stands from the fact that he failed to verify the alleged rape story as a reporter; thereby ruining the character of an astute individual and bringing the station to public disrepute.
The station warns reporter Shalon Gonlor and its entire staff to always be proactive and followed the tenets of good journalism.
The station added that it will not hesitate to reprimand any of its staff who will be involved with vices that has the propensity to bring its credibility to question.
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The Liberian laws provide for legal recourse and punishment for the defamation of character, including cases where such defamation is unintentionally committed.
However, in the incident involving Radio Nimba, which was inadvertently committed against the character of the Stipendiary Magistrate of Zuolay Magisterial Court, leading to legal consequences under the provisions of Liberian laws, the management deems it fit to adhere, without reservations, to the mandate of the Sanniquellie Magisterial Court in Nimba County.
Under the Liberian Constitution and legal system, preserving one's reputation and honor is considered a fundamental right.
In addition to the constitutional protection, Liberia also has specific laws that address defamation, which includes verbal or written statements that harm a person's reputation. One such law is the Defamation of Character Act, which outlines the legal framework for addressing instances where an individual's reputation has been unjustly tarnished. However, unintentional defamation does not pardon one from legal responsibility under the Liberian laws. Therefore, if Radio Nimba did not intend to defame the stipendiary magistrate, the consequences of such defamation can still be serious and warrant legal action.
The statement from the management then noted that the radio station takes responsibility of the act, acknowledging the fact that under the Liberian Laws, the affected parties have the right to seek legal recourse for the preservation of their reputation and to ensure that appropriate sanctions are imposed on the responsible party.
