AFELL endorsement backfires

The endorsement of incumbent President George Weah’s re-election bid by some Liberian female lawyers’ has backfired as they now face suspensions for meeting him without the authorization of their association’s leaders.

The president of the Association of Female Lawyers of Liberia (AFELL), Atty. Philomena T. Williams has told journalists that any AFELL member that attended the meeting will be suspended for one year.

They should [not] have gone to the meeting without the leadership. Nobody knows how they attended that meeting,” said Atty. Williams during a press conference Tuesday, 1 August 2023 in Monrovia.

She argued that if President Weah calls AFELL to a meeting, it is the organization’s leaders that are supposed to attend that meeting.

She said none of AFELL’s leaders attended the meeting in question, saying those that who attended it have put AFELL in disrepute and they will be suspended for one year.

Atty. Williams addressed the press Tuesday following speculations on social media that the female lawyers’ organization was about to endorse the ruling Coalition for democratic Change (CDC) after meeting Liberia’s Maritime Commissioner Eugene Nagbe.

 But she clarified that the information is not true.

 “Because we remain committed to our partners, we remain committed to our beneficiaries, we want them to believe in us that we are not political,” said Atty. Williams.

According to Atty. Williams, AFELL wants President Weah to call the Association in a meeting so it can tell him how the children are selling in the streets, and they are being raped.

 “We have not denied …. that we will meet the president. It is our desire to meet the president and to present him our agenda,” she said.

 The AFEL leader indicated that a few of AFELL’s agenda that it would put forward to President Weah would be to foster, promote and maintain the ideas and integrity of the legal profession among women.

She said it would also include to encourage women students and women in general to embrace the legal profession.

Atty. Williams stated that it comes to AFELL as an assault, some information in the media that some of the Association’s executives met with Mr. Nagbe last Friday at President Weah’s Jamaica Resort.

She termed the information as misleading and inaccurate.

Madam Williams reaffirmed to AFELL’s partners and the public that the institution remains committed to its mission for the promotion and protection of the rights of women and children in the society.

 She said AEFLL will continue to serve impartially, adding that the organization is governed by its constitution which makes its president the Chief Executive Officer who has the responsibility to direct and manage its affairs.

Atty. Williams believes that the ‘inaccurate information’ on social media is drawn from her travel for a funeral after which she returned on July 26, 2023.

According to her, AFELL wants President Weah to call the Association in a meeting so it can tell him how the children are selling in the streets and they are being raped.

 “We have not denied …. that we will meet the president. It is our desire to meet the president and to present him our agenda,” she continued.

She said a few of AFELL’s agenda that it would put forward to President Weah would be to foster, promote and maintain the ideas and integrity of the legal profession among women.

She said it would also include to encourage women students and women in general to embrace the legal profession.

According to her, AFELL wants President Weah to call the Association in a meeting so it can tell him how the children are selling in the streets and they are being raped.

“We have not denied …. that we will meet the president. It is our desire to meet the president and to present him our agenda,” she continued.

She said a few of AFELL’s agenda that it would put forward to President Weah would be to foster, promote and maintain the ideas and integrity of the legal profession among women.

She said it also include to encourage women students and women in general to embrace the legal profession.

She said on Friday, she received a call from Cllr. Alexandra Zoe, informing her that President Weah wanted to meet with AFELL’s leadership.

“And I said to her, oh, that’s a good idea because AFELL has its agenda to present to the President,” said Atty. Williams.

In her narratives, she said she asked Cllr. Zoe if a meeting could be scheduled with the president for the first week in August to present issues that they are faced with day-to-day.

According to her, these issues include children in the streets, rape, increase in domestic violence, and women in leadership.

According to her, Cllr. Zoe suggested that the meeting be held on Saturday. But Atty. Williams noted that she suggested that she first call AFELL Board Members to discuss their agenda that will be presented to the president.

She indicated that she asked Cllr. Zoe to kindly reschedule the meeting with the president because she was not well at the time.

“And that was how we ended it. And then I asked her, is there [a] communication from the president’s office? Then she asked me, so you want a letter from the president’s office? I said well not necessarily, but it has to be done properly,” said Atty. Williams.

Atty. Williams said she recognized that the members of AFELL have the constitutional rights to associate with any political party, any organization or whatever.

However, she said they do have the obligation to also respect the laws and constitution of the Association to remain impartial and non-political.

“AFELL is a non-political organization, and we remain [non-political],” she said.