One of Liberia’s legal luminaries, Cllr. Tiawon Saye Gongloe, National Bar Association (LNBA) says Manipakei Dumoe’s statement of not wanting free rice and instead AK-47s in the hands of poor people in Monrovia is protected under the laws of Liberia.
Mr. Dumoe, the acting leader of the Council of Patriots had posted on his Facebook page on Sunday May 10,2020: “We don’t need free bags of rice. I say we the poor in Monrovia need AK-47s so our leaders can take us seriously.”
Speaking to reporters at the Temple of justice on Wednesday after visiting Dumoe, who is behind bars at the Liberia National Police Headquarters in Monrovia, Cllr. Gongloe said he believes by arresting and putting Dumoe in jail was a distraction by the police to take Liberians’ attention from fighting the deadly Covid-19 and dealing with something that shouldn’t be given any attention.
He said in a democratic state like Liberia anyone has the right to disagree and agree with issues of national concern and at such government does not
“If somebody says that Liberian people need AK-47, somebody else can disagree with that person; that is what is called a democratic country. People can disagree with each other,” he said.
He insinuated that it is not right for the government to get nervous about every statement is made; adding: “This is a very poor country; we are almost 200 years old.”
Cllr. Gongloe also thinks that the police was unprofessional in their handling of the situation.
According to him, such behavior from the police force has the propensity to make investors and others who have decided to come to Liberia think that Liberia is still a “fragile country that every little thing can make the government nervous.”
Manipakei Dumoe home was on Tuesday May 12, 2020 searched for lethal weapon after making his comment on facebook about AK-47s and he was later detained at the Monrovia central prison awaiting indictment.
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