Liberia’s new military has been hailed for its professionalism since a reform process after the end of the civil war.
By Emmanuel wise Jipoh
An employee of the Department of Passport and Visas, Ministry of Foreign Affairs, was seen assaulting an officer of the Armed Forces of Liberia (AFL) on Wednesday, 6 March 2024, following some heated verbal exchanges.
The incident occurred in the corridor of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs in Monrovia when an employee with the Passport and Visas Department, Charlotte Mason, assaulted Sergent Noah Donzo, who had gone to obtain an express passport form.
The assault followed a heated verbal exchange between staffers of the Passport and Visas Department, including Director Mr. Joseph W. Mendin and Charlotte Mason.
At the time of the altercation, our reporter, along with journalist Christopher Hayes Onanuga, Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of Kool FM (91.9) FM, were present when Charlotte assaulted Officer Donzo.
Charlotte is said to be the Secretary in the office of Director Mendin. She was seen hitting Officer Donzo in the chest, but the officer exercised restraints and did not retaliate.
Sergent Donzo told reporters that he had gone to the Ministry of Foreign Affairs a day earlier and was scheduled by the Division of Passport and Visas Service staff to pick up the Express Passport form the following day.
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When he returned the next day, based on the schedule to purchase and fill out the form, Donzo said he was aggressively attacked and hit in the chest by Charlotte.
Some journalists, including our reporter, who had gone on different duties at the Ministry, said the incident occurred in their presence.
Charlotte could be seen pointing a finger directly in the face of Sergeant Donzo, telling him, “And we told you there is no passport, and we are not dealing with you?”
But Sergent Donzo was heard saying “I’m [an] AFL Personal, and I was told today to pick up my form.”
In the exchanges, Madam Mason replied: “So if you are [an] AFL Officer, what do I have to do with it? You AFL not for me, but for yourself.”
She said there was no passport form and told Officer Donzo that as he was doing his work as a soldier, she was doing hers.
For his part, journalist Christopher Onanuga was also allegedly abused by staffers at the Passport Division when he went for his passport form.
He was allegedly denied access to the office of the Director of Passport. But he was later handed the form after he tried calling other journalists to inform them about what was obtaining at the situation at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs.
Efforts to get the Ministry’s reaction to the situation did not materialize up to press time.
This is the new normal at the passport division for years now and the workers there including the Director himself becomes very aggressive and talk to citizens anyhow they feels like their own kids. They inconvenience people days in and out for their own passports which is their rights and not a privilege.
It’s about time the relevant authorities demonstrate adult supervision in the passport department. The problem with some of the individuals in charge is they don’t have a passion for the job. And the question then is can’t they be replaced with people who understand the importance of public service and customer service?
I went for passport last time, i was deny with all my documents i presented because of my name, and start demanding money to proceed.
This is the situation that happens every day in the passport section of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs.