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Claim: Montserrado County District #10 Representative Yekeh Kolubah has accused the chief of staff of the Liberian Army of shooting a 16-year-old victim in the infamous Westpoint riot during the ebola outbreak.
Verdict: The claimant’s accusation was misleading, as he failed to provide evidence. Also, checks by DUBAWA indicate that five officers, excluding the current chief of staff, Col. Davidson T. Forleh, were held accountable for the shooting incident and punished for it.
Full Text
During the outbreak of the deadly Ebola virus in Liberia that ravaged the country’s population in 2014, the government of the day took a number of measures to curtail the spread of the virus. One of those measures was quarantining persons in the densely populated slum community of West Point.
This decision by the Liberian government led to a protest by some residents within the area because they could not buy food to feed themselves and their families, prompting the deployment of armed police and military personnel to control or restrain the protesters.
Montserrado County District #10 Representative Yekeh Kolubah thus claimed that Liberia’s current Army chief of Staff, Col. Davidson T. Forleh, shot and killed one Shaki Kamara during the Ebola outbreak in Liberia.
He made the allegation during a live press conference held on Sunday, July 20, 2024, at his residence within the district.
The press conference was captured on several online media outlets, including D-Tv online and the Representative’s Facebook, and Yehkeh Kolubah TV channels.
Representative Kolubah made the claim between the 16:30 and 16:50 minutes/seconds of the over one-hour press conference
He stated, “President Joseph Boakia brought this chief of staff so that when you are incapacitated like you are about to be now, the chief of staff can overthrow, and we can have a military government.”
However, as a former warlord-turned-politician, he boasted of knowing how to use guns more than those who claimed to be supporting President Boakai and would protect the country’s democracy.
Given how sensitive this matter is, especially because lives were lost through the ebola outbreak and the shooting incident, DUBAWA finds it necessary to verify the facts of the claim made by the Montserrado County District #10 Representative.
Verification
Our researcher contacted the claimant, Representative Kolubah, via WhatsApp to ask for evidence of the accusation he made, but he has not responded.
The researcher then investigated the facts, and it was discovered that in 2014, during the Ebola outbreak in Liberia, the government quarantined the densely populated slum community of West Point, and out of resistance from the community dwellers, a riot erupted that led to the shooting of a 16-year-old boy, Shacki Kamara which led to his unfortunate death.
As a result of this riot and the death of the young boy, the government of Liberia, under the leadership of then President Madam Ellen Johnson Sirleaf, ordered a probe into the incident, and investigations were made.
After the probe, the findings were made public, and several military officers, including the platoon commander, Lieutenant Aloysius Quaye, and four other soldiers, were found guilty of failing to follow proper military procedures during the incident.
According to the investigative report, Corporal Mulbah Timothy, Corporal Flomo Anthony, Corporal Toure Partick, and Private First Class Salebia Moses were all named in the report as those responsible for the incident and were punished under the Uniform Code of Military Justice (UCMJ).
Nowhere in the report was the current chief of staff of the Liberian army mentioned as the person responsible for the shooting incident.
Conclusion
According to all available evidence from the investigations made, Representative Yekeh Kolubah’s claim is inaccurate and misleading.
