Death has taken another of the 100 alleged perpetrators that Liberia’s Truth and Reconciliation Commission recommended face trial for their crimes during the Civil war.Melvin Sogbandi died in a Monrovia hospital in January at age 53. Sogbandi led “Strike Force Marine,” one of the deadliest divisions of Charles Taylor’s National Patriotic Front of Liberia ….
West Africa Justice Reporting Project
NPFL General on TRC “Most Notorious” List Dies; Angry Victims Say He Escaped Justice
***CORRECTION: An earlier version of this story carried an image of a family member of Melvin Sogbandi. FrontPage Africa and New Narratives regret the error *** By Eric Opa Doue, Senior New Narratives Justice Reporter JUAH TOWN, Grand Bassa – James Diggs broke down in tears when he heard the news of the death of Melvin Sogbandi….
Rescued Girls Describe Female Genital Cutting; Mothers Pursue Justice
The three girls, all high school students, say they were abducted by traditional leaders in September and taken by force to the Sande without the consent of their parents. They spent six terrifying weeks at the Bush school before their desperate mothers finally discovered their location and rescued them….
Thomas Dismisses Ruling Against Him
It was one of the most shocking events of the Liberian civil war. In April 1900 troops with then-President Samuel Doe’s Special Anti-Terrorist Unit shot and hacked to death 600 people including babies taking refuge in Monrovia’s St Peters Lutheran Church. Images of the carnage were broadcast around the world. The massacre kicked off a…
LGBTQ Liberian Fired From High Profile US Job
One of the most high-profile Liberians in the United States has lost his job after being caught up in the sexual harassment scandal that took down New York Governor Andrew Cuomo. Alphonso David, 50, was the head of the Human Rights Campaign, the most powerful group lobbying for the rights of LGBTQ Americans, until last…
Evelyn Kpadeh Seagbeh visits accused “war criminal” Alieu Kosiah’s Liberia stronghold – Part 2
As Liberian rebel commander Alieu Kosiah faces a war crimes trial in Switzerland, Evelyn Kpadeh Seagbeh visits his civil war stronghold of Foya. She speaks to survivors about the extent of Kosiah’s alleged looting and love of money, that got him the war name “Physical Cash.”…
Evelyn Kpadeh Seagbeh visits accused “war criminal” Alieu Kosiah’s Liberia stronghold – Part 1
Liberia’s civil war ended 18 years ago, but some of the child soldiers from that conflict are still fighting. It’s a battle not against human enemies, but against drugs and the addiction that has devasted their lives ever since the war.A series of efforts to rehabilitate former child soldiers have mostly failed. Drug trafficking through…
Harsh Punishment Could Deter Pirates In Liberia
(Last Updated On: May 25, 2021) PHOTO: DC World Film Director Shadrach Gaye and some apparently pirated films being sold in Monrovia By William Selmah, [email protected] A Liberian artist is predicting doom for the movie sector and the entire creative industry unless stern measures are taken to clamp down on piracy and related crimes within the…
Mandingo population say they are being targeted in war crimes trials and stigmatized anew
The recent conviction of former Ulimo commander Alieu Kosiah in Switzerland brought celebrations in many parts of Liberia. Kosiah was the first Liberian to face trial for war crimes committed in Liberia. Many victims felt it was justice at last. But for some in Liberia’s Mandingo community it sparked anger. The conviction of Kosiah, following…
Speaker Chambers Accused of Blocking War Crimes Court, But Fails to Comment
New Narratives Fellow Anthony Stephens of Power TV/FM with the piece that prompted Thursday’s dispute in the Liberian Senate saying Speaker Chambers is blocking legislation to establish a War Crimes Court in Liberia….
Despite LURD Atrocities Survivors are Split Over Call for Justice
GBARMA, Gbarpolu County – When news broke that Jankuba Fofana had been arrested by British police as part of an investigation into war crimes one might have expected celebration here in Gbarma. Fofana is the first member of the rebel group Liberians United for Reconciliation and Democracy (LURD) to face justice for war crimes in Liberia’s…
Arrest of Ex-LURD General In UK Brings Faction’s War Crimes Out From The Shadows; In A War Filled With Shocking Brutality…
GBARMA, Gbarpolu County – Miatta Gray wept as she recalled the day, nearly 20 years ago, that rebels with the absurdly named “Liberians United for Reconciliation and Democracy” (LURD) upended her life. Mrs. Gray said the rebels arrived here with a friendly request that everyone assemble in the town square for a meeting. Then the killing…
Mandigoes Feel Targeted in War Crimes Trials, Bility Calls Claim “Ridiculous”
BARKEDU, Lofa County – The convictions of Alieu Kosiah and Mohammed Jabateh for war crimes committed in Liberia sparked celebrations across Liberia. 18 years since the war ended survivors saw them as long overdue justice for the horrors of the civil war. But Liberia’s Mandingo population has not felt the same way. “There are other people…
The Referendum Could Have Given Weah Possible Three Terms – Here’s What History Teaches Us
Until December, 2022, the possibility of a third term for Mr. Weah still looms, provided the entire process—from an act to a referendum—is completed by then. Yet, we should all be wary of any new extension referendum. History tells us this is not a good idea. This seed should not be allowed to germinate. According…
Rescued From Bush School, Girls Detail Trauma; Mothers Pursue Justice
Mount Barclay, LIBERIA – Going to the “Sande Bush” school was never a dream for Dearest, Tina or Precious. The three girls, all high school students, say they were abducted by traditional leaders in September and taken by force to the Sande without the consent of their parents. They spent six terrifying weeks at the…
Speaker Chambers Accused of Blocking War Crimes Court, But Fails to Comment
New Narratives Fellow Anthony Stephens of Power TV/FM with the piece that prompted an uproar in the Liberian Senate. Legislators say Speaker Chambers is blocking legislation to establish a war and economic crimes court in Liberia. Watch the story here….
Defense Focuses on Witness Inconsistencies in Massaquoi War Crimes Trial
Forgbe Kloh of Lux FM and New Narratives reports on Gebril Massaquoi’s war crimes trial in Monrovia. In this report, she also interviews Lennart Dodoo of Frontpage Africa and New Narratives about today’s court proceedings….
War Crimes Trial of Alieu Kosiah ends
Anthony Stephens of Power FM/TV reports on Alieu Kosiah’s war crimes trial in Bellinzona, Switzerland, where Kosiah is demanding over $ 1.3 million in compensation. In this report, he also speaks to the lead lawyer for the plaintiffs, Alain Werner, who Kosiah’s lawyer accused of “advertising his client’s statements for his personal benefit”. James Harding…
A War Crimes Trial Finally Comes to Liberia. Will it be the last?
Finally this month a trial over war crimes will start on Liberian soil. It’s been 18 years since the end of the Liberian civil war and nine years since the Truth and Reconciliation Commission recommended the country hold a war crimes court to bring those accused of directing the atrocities that left 250,000 dead to…
Accused War Criminal ‘Loved Looting’
FOYA DISTRICT, Lofa County, Liberia – The ruins of a factory sit on a major route in a town called Menigesua, towards the Sierra Leone border. Tall grass and weeds have engulfed what used to be staffers’ domiciles of this facility. Two huge, rusted metal tanks—that stored palm nuts before they were processed into palm…