Monrovia — The Chief of Staff of the Armed Forces of Liberia, Maj/Gen. Prince C. Johnson III Tuesday warned that the Army will be put on alert for possible misconduct during the 2023 legislative and presidential elections, warning that persons arrested will face the full brunt of the law.
He said the Army will not hesitate to help the Liberia National Police whenever there’s any tension from a group of people who will take the law into their hands.
“A caveat to whosoever may feel or is disenchanted as we approach the 2023 elections to use the court system as was seen in the 2017 Presidential and 2020 midterm Senatorial elections,”. He spoke. Anyone involved in unlawful act during and after the 2023 presidential elections will be dealt with according to the law.
“If you decide to take the law into your own hands (disregarding the rule of law), regardless of your current or past status or affiliation, and if the LNP can’t control your actions and/or is overwhelmed, we will execute our constitutional duties.”
Maj/ Gen Johnson’s warning comes amid a planned protest under the auspices of the opposition Collaborating Political Parties (CPP) scheduled for December 17.
Under the caption “we are tired suffering”, the planned December protest is already showing glimpses of a potential violence as organizers appeared reluctant to receive their money paid to the government for the Samuel Kanyon Doe Sports Complex venue.
The government has backtracked on a previous agreement — calling on organizers to pick up their money as the facility can no longer be used as it is poised to undergo renovation.
Youth and Sports Minister, Zeogar Wilson, who oversees the management of the complex, told Spoon Talk online platform that the ministry has rescinded its decision to allow the rally to take place at that venue. But the organizers of the December 17 protest are playing deaf ear to the ministry, insisting that the rally would go on as planned using the same venue.
The government has refused to see the protests as a political warning signal, but as a blame game by the opposition to score political points — though some perceive the government’s response as a blind eye to the increasingly irritable mood among the population.
The defiant posture by the organizers to continue their rally has been viewed my many supporters of the ruling establishment as violation of the law, something that may have prompted the AFL Chief of Staff caveat.