By Eric Opa Doue with New Narratives GLANYAH, River Cess – A week of relentless rainfall has plunged the traditional town of Glanyah into chaos, as rising waters swallowed homes and displaced hundreds of residents. This once-thriving community, established in the late 1970s by farmers and hunters, now faces an unprecedented crisis, with 27 houses…
Victim Fears Safety After U.S. Deportation of Accused Warlord, Calls for War Crimes Court
A Liberian civil war survivor says the deportation of former LURD commander Mayama Sesay, also known as “Black Diamond,” has left him fearing for his safety, Anthony Stephens reports in this social media video. To read more about this story click this link: https://tinyurl.com/3p5w4v9p This story is a collaboration with New Narratives as part of the “Investigating…
Lawyer for Alleged Rape Victim Questions Police Exoneration of Suspended Deputy Minister McGill
By Tetee Gebro, gender correspondent with New Narratives Summary: The lawyer for a 14-year-old girl who said she was raped by J. Bryant McGill, a former senior Liberian government official, is questioning the credibility of police findings that cleared the man, deepening public debate over accountability and transparency in sexual violence cases involving powerful figures….
River Cess Community Blames EJ&J Logging Company for Dirty and Reduced Water Supply
By Eric Opa Doue with New Narratives ZAMMIE TOWN, River Cess – It is not yet midday and Odel Morris is already out of water. Most of the customers of her business, selling tea, coffee and snacks here in this rural part of the county are leaving, without being served. Morris says she has been doing for…
Radio: River Cess Community Blames EJ&J Logging Company for Dirty and Reduced Water Supply
Stream River Cess Community Blames EJ&J Logging Company for Dirty and Reduced Water Supply by New Narratives | Listen online for free on SoundCloud This story was a collaboration with New Narratives as part of its “Investigating Liberia” project. Funding was provided by the Swedish embassy in Liberia. The funder had no say in the…
After Returning $50,000 National Hero Is Broke and Betrayed
By: Evelyn Kpadeh Seagbeh & Khushali Haji with New Narratives MONROVIA, Liberia – In 2021 Emmanuel Tuloe became a hero for a weary nation. When the then 19-year-old commercial bike rider found a bag of $US50,000 cash – enough to change his life forever – he did what many considered unthinkable: he gave it back. …
Visually Impaired Rural Students Trapped in Cycle of Poverty as Boakai Government Promises Improvements
By King Brown with New Narratives BUCHANAN, Grand Bassa County – Marpue Kpadoe sits on a small bamboo mat and moves her hands around in search of a bowl of water to wash her hands as she prepares to eat. The 18-year-old was born blind. She struggles to take her bowl of potato greens while her…
Victim Fears Safety After U.S. Deportation of Accused Warlord, Calls for War Crimes Court
By Anthony Stephens, senior justice correspondent with New Narratives Summary: In July 2003, N. says he watched armed fighters kill his sister during Liberia’s civil war—an attack he says was ordered by former rebel commander Mayama Sesay, known as “Black Diamond.” More than two decades on, he says the memory of the gunfire, the panic,…
Video: Liberia and Ghana Stand Almost Alone in Region as U.S. Travel Ban Hits Neighbors, Experts Cite Acceptance of U.S. Deportees and Other Strategic Factors
Liberia and Ghana now stand almost alone in West Africa as a U.S. travel ban hits neighboring countries. In this New Narratives video, experts explain the political and strategic decisions behind the exemptions and what the shifting policy means for ordinary people whose plans to travel, study, or reunite with family are suddenly at risk….
Video: War Crimes Court Office Submits Long-Awaited Bills to Justice Minister Amid Dispute With Civil Society
Liberians are watching a long-awaited moment in their nation’s pursuit of justice after the Office for the War and Economic Crimes Court submitted draft bills to the justice minister to establish both a war and economic crimes court and a national anti-corruption court, even as civil society groups and advocates voice deep disagreement about how…
American War Crimes Investigator and Former Liberia Lobbyist Found Guilty of Defaming Justice Activist
By Anthony Stephens, senior justice correspondent with New Narratives A criminal court in Switzerland has found Alan White, an American war crimes investigator with a long history of involvement in Liberia’s politics, guilty of defaming Alain Werner, the head of Civitas Maxima, which has led efforts to bring prosecutions against more than a dozen perpetrators…
More Than Three Quarters Liberians Approve War and Economic Crimes Courts in Latest Continental Survey
By Anthony Stephens, senior justice correspondent with New Narratives More than three quarters of Liberians have openly backed a war and economic crimes court for their country, according to a new survey released this month by Afrobarometer, an Accra based Pan African non-profit research organization. The survey is a big jump in confidence of citizens for the…
President Boakai Quiets Doubters with Renewed Mandate for War Crimes Court Office and $US2 Million Yearly Budget
By Anthony Stephens, senior justice correspondent with New Narratives Joseph Boakai, Liberia’s President, has renewed the mandate of the Office of War and Economic Crimes Court of Liberia and given the court a six fold increase in annual budget, quieting growing concern about the government’s commitment to the court after numerous funding delays. The president’s action will…
Leading Human Rights Organizations Urge President to Renew Expiring Executive Order for War Crimes Court Office as US Ambassador Meets with Office Head and Justice Minister
By Anthony Stephens, senior justice correspondent with New Narratives Leading local and international human rights organizations have joined together to issue a statement urging Liberian President Joseph Boakai to renew an executive order for the Office of War and Economics Crimes Court set to expire tomorrow, May 1. The groups, including the Liberian based Civil…
Advocates Warn Trump Administration’s Plans to Shut Offices Devoted to Global Justice and Human Trafficking Will Be Big Blow to Liberian Victims
By Anthony Stephens, Senior Justice Correspondent with New Narratives Human rights advocates working on transitional justice and human trafficking in Liberia say they are shocked by this week’s announcement by Marco Rubio, the US Secretary of State, that the US government will shut down the Office of Global Criminal Justice and the Office to Monitor and Combat…
Human Rights Commission Criticizes Government’s Lack of Financial Support to War Crimes Court Office
By Anthony Stephens with New Narratives The Independent National Commission on Human Rights, Liberia’s independent human rights body, has condemned the government for what it calls “the snail pace of support” to the Office of War and Economic Crimes Court of Liberia. The Commission issued its critique in a statement after Dr. Jallah Barbu, executive…
War Crimes Court Office Head Concedes Office is Again Out of Funds as Disability and Women’s Groups Demand Reparations at Meeting with International Stakeholders
By Anthony Stephens with New Narratives MAMBA POINT, Monrovia – People living with disabilities and women’s rights groups took center stage at a meeting of stakeholders in Liberia’s transitional justice process on Friday. While stressing the importance of the country’s nascent war and economics court, the groups said the process needed to go beyond criminal…
Civil Society Urges President Boakai to Extend Expiring Executive Order for War Crimes Court Office; Office Head Warns President Will be “Shooting Himself” If he Declines
By Anthony Stephens with New Narratives Civil society organizations working on transitional justice in Liberia have urged President Joseph Boakai to extend his executive order establishing the Office of War and Economic Crimes Courts which expires May 1. Key mandates of the Office, including a roadmap for Liberia’s transitional justice process and a bill for…
Government to Hold “Tough Conversations” with Partners After US Aid Cuts; Launches $US30 Million Project to Revamp County Service Centers, Digitize Government and Maximize Revenue
By Anthony Stephens with New Narratives The Liberian government said it would hold “tough conversations” with the country’s international partners in April to explore ways to deal with the “shock” of the US aid cuts announced by the new Trump administration this month. The US is Liberia’s second largest donor after the World Bank. Most…
Finnish Court Awards More Compensation to Sierra Leonean Warlord Acquitted of Charges for Crimes in Liberia
By Anthony Stephens with New Narratives A Finnish court has additional compensation to Gibril Massaquoi, an ex-commander of Sierra Leone’s Revolutionary United Front (RUF), acquitted in 2024 of charges that he committed egregious human rights violations in Liberia under the direction of then-president Charles Taylor. In 2024 the Pirkanmaa District Court in Finland ordered the country’s government…