Goodwill Fellowship condemns West Point shooting

The Goodwill Outreach Fellowship Society, a faith based organization, has strongly condemned the recent shooting in the township of West Point, which led to the death of a 16 year old boy.

Little Siaka Kamara was shot in the leg by armed soldiers on Monday, 25 August as residents protested a government’s quarantine of the township. The Minister of National Defense Brownie Samukia, who had earlier denied that the lad was shot by soldiers, recently somersaulted, and admitted that the victim sustained bullet wounds.

Senior AFL personnel on the scene of the incident in separate interviews insinuated that the victim got wounded as a result of being cut by bar wires and falling into a wheelbarrow. In a press release, the CEO of Goodwill Outreach Fellowship Society, Mr. Joseph B. Coleman, called on the government of Liberia to conduct speedy investigation of the shooting incident so that the perpetrators are brought to book to allow Justice takes its course.

The Commander-In-Chief of the Armed Forces of Liberia, President Ellen Johnson-Sirleaf, has ordered the Defense Ministry to investigate the incident, but critics, including the Independent National Human Rights Commission here, say such probe lacks independence and could be compromised.   

CEO Coleman further noted that peaceful citizens are being constantly harassed by security forces using excessive force at the Klay checkpoint in Bomi County. “It beats our imagination to see a modern army in this 21st  century behaving as though they were still in the dark eras of colonialism and apartheid”, he said.

Meanwhile, the organization is cautioning Liberians that Ebola is real and should be prevented. Coleman said the government is under obligation to provide basic social services and protection for her citizen, adding that the heavy deployment of armed soldiers in Klay and other parts of western Liberia under the canopy of fighting Ebola is a human right abuse and violation.

“We think the present state of emergency has brought untold suffering to the people of Liberia.”