LP, UP chairmen held hostage

By Lincoln G. Peters & Ethel A. Tweh

The chairman of the opposition Liberty Party (LP) Musa Hassan Bility and his counterpart in the Unity Party Amin Modad separately had their worst experience yet in politics over the weekend at their respective headquarters in Congo Town outside Monrovia when angry youths of their respective parties held them hostage.

Liberty Party youth under the banner Majority block Saturday, September 12, 2021, besieged the party’s beachside Headquarters on 19th Street, Sinkor, calling for the resignation of Chairman Bility who was in a meeting with some party executives, for allegedly tampering with the LP’s amended constitution.

The group allegedly sent by the Political Leader of the Party, Senator Nyonblee Kangar Lawrence, and the vice-chair for political affairs Senator Abraham Darius Dillon locked the main gate to the headquarters and demanded the living body of Bility be turned over to Police for investigation.

Political Leader Sen. Lawrence had accused Bility of allegedly altering the constitution, but he had denied her to provide proof.

However, the protesting youths noted that Chairman Bility has damaged the party constitution and is currently working with hidden hands to damage the party’s image.

“Our constitution was altered by Mr. Musa Hassan Bility. Today we are here to get the living body of Mr. Bility and turn him over to the Police. If he will be here until 1 AM, we all will be here until he tells us how the constitution was amended.” Walter Blamo, National vice-Chair for recruitment and mobilization insisted.

Blamo added that Article 6.1 of the Liberty Party constitution was illegally altered by Chairman Bility. 

However, a member of the party, Charles Brown terms the actions of his colleagues as gangsterism, saying that if they have issues, they should use the rightful procedure, describing the protesters as paid agents sent to destroy the party. 

They prevented the chairman from entering his car or leaving the headquarters, claiming that the meeting he had gone to the chair was not in the LP’s interest.

Commenting on the situation subsequently via Spong Talk, Chairman Bility confirms the siege, detailing that the protesting youth damaged the party structure, including vehicles.

However, he thanks the Liberia National Police for quickly intervening and calming the situation, specifically lauding the Inspector General of Police Col. Patrick Sudue, who responded to his call.

According to him, those who stage the siege were thugs and not partisans of the Liberty Party.

Meanwhile, protesting youths of the Unity Party reportedly held UP Chairman Amin Modad hostage, calling for his resignation. They accused Chairman Modad of allegedly collaborating with the Political Leader of the Alternative National Congress (ANC) Mr. Alexander B. Cummings.

The action came the same day just as the UP was declaring its Political Leader Joseph NyumahBoakai as Standard Bearer of the party.

Both Boakai and Cummings who are constituent parties’ leaders of the Collaborating Political Parties (CPP) are vehemently seeking to head the CPP ticket for 2023.https://thenewdawnliberia.com/cpp-is-sending-mixed-signals/ Editing by Jonathan Browne