Biodun.BBC: George Weah

Showing posts with label George Weah. Show all posts

Thursday, April 19, 2018

Liberia ex-warlord 'Jungle Jabbah' jailed for 30 years in US

20 April 2018 - 02H20 GMT/UTC/ZULU TIME

NEW YORK -

A Liberian former warlord whose forces committed atrocities including murders and cannibalism during the country's civil war was sentenced Thursday to 30 years in US prison -- for immigration-related fraud and perjury.

Nicknamed "Jungle Jabbah," 51-year-old Mohammed Jabateh commanded the "United Liberation Movement of Liberia for Democracy" (ULIMO) and later ULIMO-K rebel groups, which engaged in killings, rapes, multilation and cannibalism during Liberia's 1989-2003 civil war, according to prosecutors.

Jabateh was arrested in March 2016.

It is not the atrocities that will send the former warlord to prison, but rather lying about his past to American authorities as part of his 1998 asylum application and his subsequent bid for permanent residency, which saw him convicted in October of "two counts of fraud in immigration documents and two counts of perjury."

Prosecutors did, however, summon 17 Liberians to testify during the trial about the actions of Jabateh and his men, which allegedly included killing a village leader and bringing his heart to his wife with orders for her to cook it for them.

"This defendant committed acts of such violence and depravity that they are almost beyond belief," US Attorney William McSwain said in a statement.

"This man is responsible for atrocities that will ripple for generations in Liberia. He thought he could hide here but thanks to the determination and creativity of our prosecutors and investigators, he couldn't," McSwain said.

- 'Our only option' -

"This prosecution was our only option under the law and his sentence achieves at least some measure of justice for his victims," he said.

The fact that Jabateh is being held responsible at all is exceptional, as many people involved in the civil war still hold important positions in Liberia.

The establishment of a court for war criminals involved in the conflict, which left about 250,000 people dead, is an extremely sensitive topic.

Fearing for his safety, BBC journalist Jonathan Paye-Layleh recently decided to leave the country after a question about the subject prompted an angry response from Liberian President George Weah.

Journalist Hassan Bility, head of the Global Justice and Research Project, which works to document war crimes and see those responsible brought to justice, said Jabateh's sentencing was "a happy day" for the victims of atrocities in Liberia.

Now it is up to "the Liberian government to make sure other perpetrators are brought to court. We have been pushing for all perpetrators in the Liberian civil war to have their days in court, but the Liberian government has not yet had the courage to do so," Bility said Thursday.

"We will continue to push for that until the government can bring the perpetrators to account for what they did during the war," he said.

Thursday, December 28, 2017

George Weah: From European football star to African president

Latest update : 2017-12-28 23H:10 GMT/UTC/ZULU TIME

by Rashida Adjani and Biodun Iginla, France24, Monrovia

George Weah emerged from Liberia’s slums to become a superstar footballer in the 1990s, and leveraged his status as a revered figure among the country’s young to be voted president.

Weah easily beat Vice President Joseph Boakai in Tuesday’s presidential run-off, the culmination of 12 years spent building political credibility to match his huge popularity.

“You know I’ve been in competitions tough ones too and I came out victorious. So I know Boakai cannot defeat me,” Weah said ahead of the vote. “I have the people on my side.”

The first African player to win both FIFA’s World Player of the Year trophy and the Ballon d’Or, Weah was largely absent from Liberia during the 1989-2003 civil war period, playing for a string of top-flight European teams including Paris Saint-Germain and AC Milan.

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After running unsuccessfully for the presidency in 2005, when he was defeated by President Ellen Johnson Sirleaf, Weah says he has “gained experience” since becoming a senator in 2014.

Another fruitless run for the vice-presidency on the ticket of presidential candidate Winston Tubman in 2011 brought him to further prominence among the nation’s voters, many of whom say this time it was “Weah’s turn”.

Weah, 51, has put education, job creation and infrastructure at the centre of his platform in line with Boakai and had won an unassailable 61.5 percent of votes with more than 98 percent of votes counted as of Thursday evening.

Beloved by young and poor

Younger voters overwhelmingly favour Weah, who is idolised in his country as “Mister George”.

A member of the Kru ethnic group, Weah was raised by his grandmother on a reclaimed swamp in one of the worst slums of the capital Monrovia.

“Grassroots citizens identify with George Weah, considering that he is close to their day-to-day experience,” explained Ibrahim Al-Bakri Nyei, a Liberian political analyst at London’s School of Oriental and African Studies (SOAS).

His critics say the high school dropout, who later completed a degree, is unprepared to lead a country.

“George Weah is a good, humble and respectful person that should not be given the Liberian presidency, because he is being controlled by an evil hand,” said Benoni Urey, a losing presidential candidate who switched his allegiance to Boakai.

Urey and others say Weah is being manipulated by Sirleaf so she can continue to push an agenda when she steps down after 12 years in power.

But many voters see a poor boy from the slums who made good against the odds.

“I believe that whenever we give him a chance, he will be able to give a better Liberia to the youth and the homeless,” Andrew Janjay Johnson, a shoeshiner in a Monrovia market, told us at France24.

‘Vague’ platform

Critics also accuse Weah’s Coalition for Democratic Change (CDC) of having too vague a political platform, and have challenged his long absences from the senate since being elected in a race he won over Sirleaf’s son.

Weah has also fended off barbs over his vice-presidential pick, Jewel Howard-Taylor, the ex-wife of jailed former president and warlord Charles Taylor.

Howard-Taylor however is also a respected senator in her own right, bringing him important votes in the key county of Bong, and along with Sirleaf is one of few powerful women in Liberian public life.

Weah is married to Clar Weah, and his son, Timothy, signed a professional football contract with Paris Saint-Germain in July.

Date created : 2017-12-28