Lawmaker denies killing woman

Grand Kru County Representative, Numene Bartekwa confirms that ritualism activities are prevalent in his county, but denies report that he was stormed by protesting crowd for being linked to the mysterious disappearance and subsequent death of a 62-year-old woman identified as Tarwan Bellor in Barclayville.

Report from the county indicates that angry crowd besieged Representative Bartekwa’s residence and stormed the lawmaker for his alleged involvement in the death of the lady, a situation he denies in a press conference hosted in Monrovia.

The lawmaker responding to report that ‘Barclayville City’ is being considered as ‘the new ritual city’, says the city is not exempted from other counties in the southeast such as Maryland County where frequent deaths are reported and body parts are extracted for ritual purposes.

Rep. Bartekwa recalls that under his supervision as lawmaker, besides the death of Madam Bellor, roughly over three persons had died and suspects were arrested and sent to prison for years, some of whom he says, have been released by government due to lack of evidence to proceed with prosecution.

In an interview with reporters recently, he says it is unfortunate that his political opponents would want to link him because police investigative report released, did not accuse him or has any report ever linked him to killing.

Representative Bartekwa’s assertion was in reaction to media report linking him to the death Madam Bellor in December 2016, but in sharp response, he says at no time had his name ever been mentioned in any gboyo activities.

Explaining how his residence was besieged by angry protesters and storms were thrown, he narrates that when he returned from his district to Barclayville, he saw women and youth groups besieged his residence, demanding justice due to the missing and of death of Madam Tarwan Bellor.

He continues that the angry protesters did not besiege his residence alone, but also besieged all senior government officials’ residences in Barclayville, including the police station.

According to him, a photographer, who stood by his side taking pictures of the angry crowd, was stormed.

“I was not stormed and rescued by the police. Here is the truth, there was an incident in Barclayville, and I was not in Barclayville when the incident took place.

“When I returned, I saw huge crowd at my residence with the aim to alert us about the mysterious disappearance of a lady. In the process, a photographer was standing by my side taking pictures of the angry crowd, and one of them reacted by throwing storms at him it was not me. My people didn’t storm me or hurt my eyes as spilled out by my political foes,” Bartekwa denies.