US$5,000 Bribery Case Heats Up:
Witnesses Flown Abroad
13 Lawmakers to Face Probe?
As investigation into the alleged US$5,000 deal which led to the removal of Edwin M. Snowe as Speaker of the House of Representatives intensifies, latest reports available to The Monitor have revealed that the two former drivers assigned to two of the lawmakers [ring leaders] in executing the plan have confessed to the International Contact Group on Liberia (ICGL) and a panel of European Union and the United States investigators currently carrying out preliminary investigation into the bribery scandal at the first branch of the Liberian government.
The reports said the two drivers were assigned with the two lawmakers on that night of the operations “to handle the physical cash” by their respective bosses. According to them, they drove upon the instruction of a former minister of government to take delivery of the “huge quantity of the United States dollars” for distribution among the lawmakers for Snowe’s removal.
Our sources quoted the two drivers, who are currently out of the country, as saying, after the two legislators (names not disclosed) collected the money, they began to ask each other,” the deal is done, but who do we have to replace this young man”? “My man, one of us is capable of becoming speaker, we only need to support each other in the process,” they were quoted as saying.
According to our investigation, the two lawmakers hailed from opposing political parties.
Sources in the corridors of power who begged for anonymity hinted our reporter that the Unity Party and some members of the House had earlier planned to expel Representatives Saa Richard Gborllie of Margibi County and Samuel Bondo of Bong County for going public that “each of them received US$5,000 to commit themselves to the fight to remove House Speaker Edwin Snowe.”
But again, that plan was abandoned following reported threats by the two lawmakers to open up on the entire bribery issue in the media should there be any attempt by a group or group of individuals to expel them from that august body.
According to our sources, the two drivers alleged that the entire bribery investigation may tie around 13 lawmakers and Representatives Gbollie and Bondo may be used as witnesses in the investigation.
The two Representatives in their statement at the time expressed concern about the source of the “huge funds” being spread around, because according to them, their colleagues did not have such huge sum of money to dish out.
Representatives Gbollie and Bondo told newsmen at the time that “the purpose of taking the money was primarily to serve as evidence to reveal the undemocratic and dubious plans by some officials of this government which could undermine the peace and stability we now enjoy.”
Two lawmakers ended their challenge by withdrawing their signatures from the resolution, on grounds that they were “coerced to do that in a fraudulent manner.”
However, in a recent interview on a local radio, two-time contender for the post of Speaker of the House of Representatives, Edward Forh welcomed the calls by U.S. Ambassador Donald Booth and others for an independent investigation into the bribery case.
He was one of those accused of taking bribe to remove Snowe. Forh once battled Snowe for the speaker post.
It was reported in the media recently that two experts from the United States of America (USA) were in the country at the invitation of the US Embassy, the European Union (EU) and International Contact Group on Liberia (ICGL) to carry out exclusive interrogation into the bribery scam.
The (ICGL) and United States Ambassador accredited to Liberia Donald Booth insisted on an in depth investigation into widespread allegation of “money changing hands” for the removal of Edwin Snowe.
When the Co-Chair of the ICGL, Ghanaian Ambassador to Liberia Major/General Francis Adu-Amanfoh was contacted Wednesday to comment on the latest preliminary investigation, our reporter was informed that the Ambassador was out of the country.
But a source closed to the ICGL maintained that the group has not abandoned it quest for an independent investigation in the US$5,000 bribery scam.
Witnesses Flown Abroad
13 Lawmakers to Face Probe?
As investigation into the alleged US$5,000 deal which led to the removal of Edwin M. Snowe as Speaker of the House of Representatives intensifies, latest reports available to The Monitor have revealed that the two former drivers assigned to two of the lawmakers [ring leaders] in executing the plan have confessed to the International Contact Group on Liberia (ICGL) and a panel of European Union and the United States investigators currently carrying out preliminary investigation into the bribery scandal at the first branch of the Liberian government.
The reports said the two drivers were assigned with the two lawmakers on that night of the operations “to handle the physical cash” by their respective bosses. According to them, they drove upon the instruction of a former minister of government to take delivery of the “huge quantity of the United States dollars” for distribution among the lawmakers for Snowe’s removal.
Our sources quoted the two drivers, who are currently out of the country, as saying, after the two legislators (names not disclosed) collected the money, they began to ask each other,” the deal is done, but who do we have to replace this young man”? “My man, one of us is capable of becoming speaker, we only need to support each other in the process,” they were quoted as saying.
According to our investigation, the two lawmakers hailed from opposing political parties.
Sources in the corridors of power who begged for anonymity hinted our reporter that the Unity Party and some members of the House had earlier planned to expel Representatives Saa Richard Gborllie of Margibi County and Samuel Bondo of Bong County for going public that “each of them received US$5,000 to commit themselves to the fight to remove House Speaker Edwin Snowe.”
But again, that plan was abandoned following reported threats by the two lawmakers to open up on the entire bribery issue in the media should there be any attempt by a group or group of individuals to expel them from that august body.
According to our sources, the two drivers alleged that the entire bribery investigation may tie around 13 lawmakers and Representatives Gbollie and Bondo may be used as witnesses in the investigation.
The two Representatives in their statement at the time expressed concern about the source of the “huge funds” being spread around, because according to them, their colleagues did not have such huge sum of money to dish out.
Representatives Gbollie and Bondo told newsmen at the time that “the purpose of taking the money was primarily to serve as evidence to reveal the undemocratic and dubious plans by some officials of this government which could undermine the peace and stability we now enjoy.”
Two lawmakers ended their challenge by withdrawing their signatures from the resolution, on grounds that they were “coerced to do that in a fraudulent manner.”
However, in a recent interview on a local radio, two-time contender for the post of Speaker of the House of Representatives, Edward Forh welcomed the calls by U.S. Ambassador Donald Booth and others for an independent investigation into the bribery case.
He was one of those accused of taking bribe to remove Snowe. Forh once battled Snowe for the speaker post.
It was reported in the media recently that two experts from the United States of America (USA) were in the country at the invitation of the US Embassy, the European Union (EU) and International Contact Group on Liberia (ICGL) to carry out exclusive interrogation into the bribery scam.
The (ICGL) and United States Ambassador accredited to Liberia Donald Booth insisted on an in depth investigation into widespread allegation of “money changing hands” for the removal of Edwin Snowe.
When the Co-Chair of the ICGL, Ghanaian Ambassador to Liberia Major/General Francis Adu-Amanfoh was contacted Wednesday to comment on the latest preliminary investigation, our reporter was informed that the Ambassador was out of the country.
But a source closed to the ICGL maintained that the group has not abandoned it quest for an independent investigation in the US$5,000 bribery scam.
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Published with the permission of the Monitor Newspaper (January 24, 2007 edition)
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