Okay FM Archives - New Narratives

Belgian Court Orders War Crimes Trial for Martina Johnson, a Key Ally of Warlord-Turned President Charles Taylor, After Decade-Long Investigation

A Belgian court has ordered a former commander in Liberia’s civil war to stand trial for allegedwar crimes committed more than three decades ago. The suspect is Martina Johnson, a key ally of former Liberian warlord-turned-president CharlesTaylor. Prosecutors say she took part in killings and mutilations during one of the war’s most violentoffensives. New Narratives’…

Anthony Stephens
Radio

After Mob Attack, Red Cross Begins Rebuilding Destroyed Rivercess Village — But Fear, Hunger and Insecurity Persist

In River Cess County, residents of Bethel Town are beginning to rebuild after a vigilante mob attack destroyed much of their community last month. But while new homes are taking shape, families say they are still struggling with hunger, lack of clean water, and fears of another attack. In this collaboration with Ok FM and…

Eric Opa Doue
Radio

National ID Card Rollout Continues to Be Held Up by $1.7 Million Unpaid Government Debt

Seven months after President Joseph Boakai halted Liberia’s national ID rollout to fix problemsin the system, the program is still not running. Officials say the country cannot access itsbiometric database because the government owes 1.7 million dollars to the company that built it. The delay means millions of Liberians remain outside the system. Tetee Gebro…

Tetee Gebro
Radio

Experts Say Electric Vehicles Are The Future But Rollout In Liberia Faces Challenges; A New Policy May Change That

In Monrovia, Liberia, a quiet shift is underway on the country’s roads — one that could reshape how people move, and how the nation powers its future. You need to mention what the story is about in the intro and include the news hook – that is what makes the story most interesting to listeners….

Nemenlah Cyrus Harmon
Radio

Liberia’s Anti-Corruption Watchdog Asked Liberians to Report Corruption By Putting Allegations in Boxes – It Didn’t Work

Liberia is testing new ways for citizens to report corruption. One idea was simple: drop acomplaint in a locked box and walk away. But it didn’t work. The results show Liberians aretoo afraid to report corruption.Corruption watchdogs hope a new app will solve the problem. But, as with so many otherthings in Liberia, it needs…

Joyclyn Wea
Radio

Victims and Advocates Angry As Government Stays Silent Over Bribery Allegations in Country’s Biggest Human Trafficking Case as Suspects’ Release Date Nears

In Liberia, victims and human rights advocates are expressing anger over the government’s silence in the country’s largest human trafficking case — as suspects move closer to possible release.The case involves more than fifty victims and allegations of bribery within the justice system. It is one of a growing number of human trafficking cases –…

Anthony Stephens
Radio

Leading War Crimes Investigator’s Office Attacked As Threats Against Witnesses, Investigators Escalate

Armed men have broken into the offices of Liberia’s leading organization investigating civil warcrimes. Activists say it’s the latest in a series of threats against victims, witnesses and investigatorslinked to efforts to bring perpetrators to justice. Human rights groups are urging the government to strengthen protection as Liberia moves closerto establishing a war crimes court….

Anthony Stephens
Radio

In Rural Liberia, Climate Change and Gold Mining Are Converging to Threaten Livelihoods

In rural areas across Liberia, residents say getting clean drinking water is becoming more difficult as gold mining and climate change pollute rivers and creeks.In this collaboration with OKFM and radio partners, Eric Opa Doue reports from ITI Town in River Cess County, where getting clean water is taking longer — and waterborne illnesses are…

Eric Opa Doue
Radio

The Corruption That Allows Liberia’s Human Traffickers To Stay Free To Exploit the Poorest Citizens

More than 50 victims of human trafficking in Liberia say they were promised jobsabroad—but instead ended up trapped, abused, and extorted.Now, months after coming forward, they say justice is slipping away.Their case promised to bethe biggest win against criminals who are profiting from fraudulent promises of sending peopleoverseas for jobs, in a business known by…

Anthony Stephens
Radio

“We Are Tired”: Women Demand Justice and Action on Gender Violence; Police Chief Promises Action

Scores of women dressed in black marched through Monrovia on Monday to demand justice for the wife of prominent Liberian economist Samuel Jackson, Toni Jackson and to call for stronger action against gender-based violence in Liberia.The women said Jackson’s death is not just one family’s tragedy, but part of a bigger problem facing women across…

Joyclyn Wea
Radio

Govt Releases Data on Eyeglasses Distribution After News Report Highlights Lack of Transparency

In October, during World Sight Day celebrations, Liberia’s Health Ministry announced an ambitious promise: to screen one thousand students and distribute twelve thousand donated reading glasses nationwide.Six months later, the ministry says about one fourth of those glasses have been distributed but it still has not given details on who received them. That’s leading vision…

Fatu Kamara
Radio

Liberia’s Silent Crisis: Women and Children Bear the Brunt of Persistent Hunger

Across Liberia, a quiet crisis is unfolding—one that rarely makes headlines. It’s not war, not Ebola, but hunger. And at its center are women and children. As New Narratives climate reporter Nemenlah Cyrus Harmon found, women and children are feeling the impact of the crisis. This story was a collaboration with New Narratives as part…

Nemenlah Cyrus Harmon
Radio

Vigilante Mob Levels River Cess Village; Authorities Slow to Respond

In River Cess County, more than 150 women and children are sleeping outdoors after a mob burned homes and food stores in Bethel Town in the latest example of vigilante violence across the country.Six men including the town chief have finally been taken into custody after police took 10 days to arrive in the town.The…

Eric Opa Doue
Radio

Defense Lawyers Claim Statute of Limitations Means Rebel Cannot be Tried For 1993 War Crimes

Defense lawyers representing former Liberian rebel commander, Kunti Kamara, are claiming that the statute of limitations means Kamara cannot be tried for 1993 War Crimes. According to them, it has been more than ten years from the time the crimes for which Kamara is accused were committed in Liberia, arguing, that it should be heard…

Evelyn Kpadeh Seagbeh
Radio

French Court Of Appeal Throws Out Rebel Commander Claim he was Underage When Crimes Took Place

The judge in former Liberian warlord, Kunti Kamara’s appeal of his 2022 conviction for war crimes, dealt a blow to Kamara’s case on Monday by striking out his two challenges to the charges.The former Ulimo rebel commander’s lawyers had introduced two new arguments in this appeal claiming that Kamara was 15 at the time the…

Evelyn Kpadeh Seagbeh
Radio

Lawyers for Former Rebel Commander Demand French Appeal Court to Acquit

As Kunti Kamara’s war crimes appeal enters the final stages, his lawyers are calling on the jury to reject the prosecutors’ plea of guilty due to the lack of sufficient evidence. They also want Kamara acquitted. Presenting their plea before the court Tuesday, his defense lawyers argued that the prosecution did not provide sufficient evidence…

Evelyn Kpadeh Seagbeh
Radio

French Court of Appeal upholds Guilty Verdict for Liberian Warlord

The French Court of Appeal hand has found former Ulimo comer, Kunti Kamara guilty of war crimes and crimes against humanity, upholding his earlier 30-year sentence. In the French judicial system comprising 3 judges and 9 juries, the jury needed to have an innate belief in Kamara’s guilt to convict. A simple majority of jurors,…

Evelyn Kpadeh Seagbeh
Radio

Anti-Corruption Watchdog is dysfunctional, ending scrutiny of government one year from election

Three months since the government’s highly controversial decision to overhaul the Liberian Anti Corruption Commission the country’s independent corruption watchdog has been silenced. Staff say no investigations are being done and morale is at zero. Things have only become more uncertain with the news that the Supreme Court will consider whether the overhaul was constitutional….

Varney Dukuly
Radio

What can Liberia learn from South Africa about reconciliation and Commemoration?

Now a special report from Johannesburg South Africa. In November, our reporter Fatu Kamara traveled to the city thirty years after the end of the apartheid regime that segregated the population by race and brutally oppressed the black majority. South Africa’s first Black president Nelson Mandela famously championed reconciliation with former apartheid leaders even after…

Fatu Kamara
Okay FM

Living in Hell” Experts Alarmed at Dramatic Increase in Street Children

A recently released survey has confirmed what child welfare advocates have long feared: The rising number of Liberians living in poverty has led to a huge number of children living on the streets. There were more than three hundred and sixty six thousand children living on their own in 2022. Sadly, experts say, with so…

Nemenlah Cyrus Harmon
Radio

Poverty Forces Children into Dangerous Jobs

The long‑standing practice of forcing underage children into hazardous labor continues to endanger young lives across Liberia, with little accountability for those responsible. As highlighted in a report by Tetee Gebro in collaboration with Okay FM, the issue persists despite clear data from international partners showing its severity. While the impacts on children are profound…

Tetee Gebro
Radio