Senate Probes Harry Greaves Death

The Liberian Senate has voted overwhelmingly, mandating its committees on National Defense, Security, Intelligent and Veteran Affairs, Health and Judiciary to thoroughly probe circumstances leading to the death of the former managing director of the Liberia Petroleum Refinery Company, Harry Greaves.

The senate, under the supervision of Presiding Officer Geraldine Doe Sherif of Montserrado County, took the decision Tuesday, March 1, 2016, based on a communication from Bong Senator Jewel Howard Taylor, who had written the plenary requesting an independent investigation of the death of the former statesman.

The joint committee is expected to submit its findings and recommendations to plenary within two weeks. The report, thereafter, will be made available to the public and President Ellen Johnson Sirleaf. “My rational for lifting this issue is because of my receipt of graphic pictures of the late Greaves, taken during the initial inspection at the John F. Kennedy Hospital, as well as the many conflicting claims and counter-claims surrounding his death; and as yet, no clear information from our government as to the cause of death which could help us as citizens of Bong County deal with this unfortunate loss. I am, therefore, constrained to on behalf of the citizens of Bong County, respectfully request that the Plenary of the Senate authorizes its relevance committee to call the officials of JFK and security sector who received the remains of Mr. Greaves to investigate and ascertain the cause and circumstances surrounding his death,” she said in the communication dated February 29, 2016.

Taylor pointed out that the intervention of the Senate will aid the process and will give the lawmakers a clearer picture about the unfortunate circumstances leading to his untimely death, as well as the necessity for government to launch a criminal investigation.

On February 1, 2016, Mr. Harry Greaves was found dead on the beach behind the fence of the Executive Mansion, barely two days after he went missing from the RLJ Kendija Hotel, off the Robertsfield Highway.
The former LPRC Managing Director was discovered completely naked lying on the beach.

The site where his corpse was on Sunday morning, January 31, was just a few meters away from where the lifeless body of a controversial lawyer, Cllr. Michael Alison, a key witness in an oil consultation scandal involving high profile government officials from the Legislative branch of government, was found in February 2015.

By E. J. Nathaniel Daygbor