Monrovia — In a recent recording, Assistant Minister for Urban Affairs at the Ministry of Internal Affairs, Mike Jabateh, threatened that the Liberian Government would kill Montserrado County District #10 Representative Yekeh Kolubah if he does not refrain from insulting President Joseph Boakai.
Representative Kolubah played a significant role in President Boakai's victory over former President Weah in 2023. However, he turned into a staunch critic of President Boakai just days after the President was announced the winner by the National Election Commission (NEC) in November 2023. Kolubah has accused the President of betraying the trust and confidence of Liberians.
His persistent criticisms of President Boakai's regime have put him at odds with supporters, resulting in public threats from top government officials and attempts by individuals believed to support the government to tarnish his reputation on social media.
In April, Representative Kolubah was photographed with a female student by an individual believed to be associated with the children of President Boakai. However, Mr. Kolubah denied knowing the student, explaining that she had reached out to him for assistance.
In June, officials of Grand Cape Mount County threatened the lawmaker, warning him not to visit their county after he spoke about the poor treatment residents were receiving from the Bea Mountain Concession Company.
On Monday, July 22 Representative Kolubah posted on social media that his political "base" at his Old Road residence had been raided by officers of the Liberia National Police, reportedly due to his critical stance against the Boakai-led government.
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On Wednesday, July 24, 2024, a phone conversation between Assistant Minister Jabateh and Representative Kolubah leaked. In the recording, the Assistant Minister introduced himself before making a threatening remark to kill Representative Kolubah if he did not stop insulting President Boakai.
In the recording, Representative Kolubah initiated the call, saying: "Hello, hello." Assistant Minister Jabateh responded: "Honorable Yekeh Kolubah, this is Mike Jabateh." Representative Kolubah replied: "Yes Mike, you were calling me yesterday, and I just missed your call again. How are you, sir?"
Assistant Minister Jabateh then said: "Honorable Yekeh Kolubah, let me tell you something, I don't want to lie to you. I'm a trained man from Russia; I spent two years in Russia. If you continue to insult the President, calling the President all types of names, I swear to Allah, we (government) will bring missionaries to kill you. If it doesn't happen, don't trust me. If it doesn't happen, call me a Mandingo dog. If you continue to insult the President, we will kill you, I swear to God, try it. I give you three weeks from now, and you will see what is going to happen to you. You are a very foolish man." FrontPage Africa was unable to reach Assistant Minister Jabateh as his phone went unanswered, and he did not reply to a text message sent to him. However, Jabateh wrote on his social media page: "The man that beat his own mom and jailed her, what do you expect?"
