CONGO TOWN, Monrovia, Liberia – A woman who alleges she was abducted from outside her compound by unknown men, drugged, raped and dumped on the Robertsfield Highway, has accused the police of failing to launch an investigation into her ordeal. She claims the police are intimidating her and her visitors as she undergoes treatment in hospital. 

The Liberian National Police did not respond to queries on the matter up to press time. 

Justina Taylor Ghartey allegeges earlier this month she was  abducted by unknown men and later found unconscious by passers-by on the Robertsfield Highway. She claims this occurred on the the same day she appeared in a video making wide range of allegations against stalwarts of the ruling Coalition for Democratic Change (CDC) that went viral on Facebook.

In a dramatic turnaround, Ghartey, 48, a granddaughter of the legendary Chief Tamba Taylor, appeared in another viral video this time claiming to be fighting for her life, with the controversial talk show host Henry Costa by her side. 

Now, barely a week in hospital, Ghartey told reporters that she was frustrated that she doesn’t feel the police have done anything other than occupy her hospital room. Four police officers deployed at the entrance of the hospital and four others at door of her ward. 

“Nobody has come here from the police to ask how it happened,” Ghartey told reporters from her bed on her private ward at the St. Joseph Catholic Hospital. “Nobody from the police authority has come to say ‘we are going to investigate. We are behind you.’ All they do is to send PSU, PSU,” the mother of one daughter continued. 

She said she had no more privacy as police officers flock to her ward, restricting access to her. “The police are all in my room,” she lamented. “The other night they were sleeping on the other bed. 

“How can you protect me when I can’t even sleep? The police are stopping my family from coming to see me. They stopped my pastor. They stopped my sister,” she said. 

“What I want the police to do is to go to Robertsfield Highway, whatever way, and find out who did this to me. I don’t need them in my room.” 

Efforts to speak to police spokesman Moses Carter did not materialize. This reporter phoned and as well as sent him a text message but he did not respond as he promised. 

Adama Dempster of the Civil Society Human Rights Advocacy Platform, one of the people allowed to see Ghartey, told reporters the police presence also claimed his attention. 

“The police presence has worried us so much,” Dempster said. “The police presence has created fear for Justina and other patients.” 

Dempster urged women of Liberia and the public to support Ghartey. 

“She is one person whose story should be something for us to build around. If she has done something wrong, I think that the law should take its course. But at this present time, I think every well-meaning Liberian in this country…should take this lady’s case to be a case of interest,” he said. 

This story first appeared on FrontPageAfricaOnline as part of a collaboration for the West Africa Justice Reporting Project.