By Stephen G. Fellajuah
MONROVIA – Upon the return of the controversial City Police Director Thomas Garwo from the United States of America where he allegedly revealed secrets concerning sensitive government operations linking Monrovia City Mayor Jefferson Tamba Koijee to purchasing huge catchments of weapons, as well the attacks on former Chief Justice Gloria Musu Scott’s residence, the legal team of the Monrovia City Mayor headed by Cllr. Arthur Johnson arranged a press briefing yesterday Wednesday where Director Garwo linked former TRC Chair Jerome Verdier, Spoon Talk owner Stanton Witherspoon, former Deputy Information Minister Eugene Fahngon and others to a nefarious plan to defame the character of Mayor Koijee.
Commencing the news conference yesterday, May 10, 2023 at his law offices in Monrovia, Cllr. Arthur Johnson said there is a conspiracy to defame, incriminate and to create the situation that information is around that indeed Mayor Koijee is engaged in acts of killing people and creating instability, pinpointing that those who are involved are making sure that Mayor Koijee becomes a victim of international sanction. “Lies are not the way forward for this country,” Cllr. Johnson said.
According to him, what goes around comes around, and that the legal team will continue to represent the legal interest of Mayor Koijee and will continue to defend him in any way when these things are being identified. Cllr Johnson added that the Director of the Monrovia City Police had visited the United States on a church-related different program when a group of individuals including, Cllr. Jerome Verdier, Sheikh Sackor, Eugene Fahngon, Stanton Witherspoon and Alex Williams decided to coerce him to falsify information that would incriminate and defame the reputation of Mayor Koijee, so that the MCC Director’s testimony can be used as eye witness account and then sent to the Congress of the US government as a mean to place him under sanctions.
“I am not interested in the political dynamics. I am interested in the truth of the law and the truth is you can’t lie against somebody. We will play a subsequent audio where they coerced the director of police to cooperate and tell lies just to destroy the good image of this young man,” Cllr. Johnson added.
“You will not destroy Jefferson Koijee on the basis of lies when he is my client, because history has the tendency of judging us. They were successful in the case of Nathaniel McGill, Syrenius Cephus and others, and so the next person they know when they strike then CDC is out, is Jefferson Tamba Koijee. That is the reason you see these systematic threats and attacks”, he said.
In an audio recording that was played, a voice attributed to be Cllr. Jerome Verdier was heard persuading Director Thomas Garwo to tell his story of which he will send to him to look at it and send him a few questions that he will answer after which he (Verdier) will send it to the US Congress.
Also speaking at the news conference, MCC Director Thomas Garwo said it was an opportunity to demystify the falsehoods in a series of recordings that has been used as propaganda by some notorious criminals that are currently living in the United State of America.
Explaining his story, Garwo said he travelled to the US as part of a pastoral group called the Paramilitary Network headed by one Falo. He said the group has been sending people abroad including Israel, South Korea. When the US opportunity came, he applied and was accepted along with 16 other persons from different security apparatus, to include EPS, Fire Service, LIS, LNP, and MCC police.
“We were 14 that were selected to go to the US Embassy for a Visa. Out of the 14, I was the only person that obtained a visa. So immediately I received the visa, I drove to the CDC party headquarters to my boss, Jefferson Tamba Koijee and told him the good news at which he instructed the City government to pay for my plane ticket and give me some money for use while I am in the US”, Director Garwo explained.
While in the US, he said Sheikh Sackor called him on a Wednesday where they decided to have a friendly conversation on the phone, and Sheikh brought up the issue of former Chief Justice Scott’s niece’s death and the interview he conducted at the MCC. Garwo said he told Sheikh that he could not continue the conversation on the phone. It was at that point that he (Sheikh) decided to give Garwo the contact number of one Congress so he (Garwo) could speak with him.
Explaining further Garwo said he left Liberia on the 12th of April, which was his wife’s birthday. He said after his training he posted on the social media saying thank God for a successful conference, it was at which time Sheikh sent Soko Sackor Jr. to pick him up and took him to Sheikh house in Delaware.
While at Sheikh house, Garwo said he became wary when Sheikh would walk outdoors every time he received a call on his mobile. everytime he wants to make a call he will go out. Garwo said when he observed the strange movements, he decided to ask Sheikh but his host told him to be calm. He said Sheikh later told him that he and his wife were going to another state for a baby shower and could not leave him 9Garwo) alone in the house as Cllr. Verdier was going to buy his plane ticket to go to Philadelphia.
He explained that when he arrived at the Philadelphia Airport on Ramadan Day, he decided to call the number Sheikh gave him but the number registered on his WhatsApp as Sheikh Sackor.
Garwo said while there, Cllr. Verdier called him, to which he said Sheikh told him that Congress One was going to call him. Cllr. Verdier said, “I am Congress One, I worked with the State Department”.
“Immediately when Sheikh picked me up we went on the field and I saw some Liberians who wanted to talk to me but Sheikh could not give them a chance and we started taking photos right there. After taking photos, Sheikh went into his car and started to play with his phone. I immediately warned Sheikh not to post my photo on social media, but within 30 minutes I started to receive a series of calls and text messages that my photo was being discussed by Prophet Key,” Garwo narrated.
He said some of his family members began to complain that he was taking photos with someone who has denigrated the President and CDC so it was endangering his life.
Garwo said they drove to New Jersey and while standing eating his chocolate, he saw a white convertible vehicle arrive and park. Inside the vehicle were Eugene Fahngon, Stanton Witherspoon, Alex Williams and two other guys who descended from the car.
He said Stanton hugged him and said his story has changed. They went to a restaurant but Garwo forgot his phone in the car. Sheikh then went into the car and got the phone but did not give it to him. Then Sheikh said you are already here you need to tell us what you know. Sheikh maintained this is the US and you need to tell us what you know or dance to our tone.
According to Garwo, he told them he knows nothing. Sheikh said all the things your boss is doing in that country then you here telling us you know nothing, But Garwo said he maintained that he was not going to lie against anyone, and that his visit in America was for a church conference.
Then Alex William came in and said it was Stanton who gave him US$10, 000 to destroy Finance Minister Samuel Tweah, and it was Stanton who was doing everything for him in the US.
Eugene Fahngon too said it was Stanton who is doing everything for him, so he (Garwo) needs to say what he knows or they will tell him what to say.
Explaining further, he said Stanton brought a phone from his car and placed his (Garwo) Liberian number into it. Then they asked him to talk about weapons that were discovered at the Freeport of Monrovia, at which time he Garwo said there were huge catchments of weapons brought for the city police even more than the army and Koijee was getting so powerful that when he speaks no one else speaks.
At that point Stanton went into his car and brought out nearly US$ 25,000 but took US$1,000 off and gave it to him, and after the conversation he left. Of the US$1,000, according to Garwo, Fahngon took US$300, while Sheikh took US$300 as well, thereby leaving him with US$400.
Cllr Verdier called him and said he was going to explain on Spoon Talk before receiving the money and he was going to be doing under table work and get paid US$500.
Garwo said Cllr. Verdier called him to do a letter of resignation. He said the letter was not written by him, if so, he wouldn’t have misspelled his name. “I don’t know where they took that letter from,” Garwo said.