MONROVIA – Shocked by report of the death of Liberian Broadcast Journalist Zenu Miller, the opposition Liberty Party (LP) says burden is on the government, acting through the Ministries of Health and Justice, to ensure that all practical and honest actions are taken to clear the air of the apprehension that is once again defining the public’s attitude toward the security forces of this country.
The Liberty Party in a press release Monday, February 17, said the death of Journalist Miller has come at a time when circumstances surrounding his brutalization by Officers of the Executive Protection Services (EPS) are yet to be fully investigated and accountability for the act established and the proper actions taken.
As a champion for the rule of law in the Liberian body politic, the Liberty Party indicated that it would not jump to hasty conclusion that the journalist died as a result of the brutality meted at him by the EPS without a credible medical report.
The LP in a press release dated February 17, 2020 and signed by the party’s Deputy Secretary General for Press and Public Affairs Kla-Edward Toomey II noted, “We, however, take due consideration of recent comments [in the public spheres], including ones on the social media, attributed to the deceased that he had had problem with his health since his brutal encounter with Officers of the Executive Protection Services.
Died on Saturday morning after he fell off and was rushed to the ELWA Hospital, Journalist Zenu Miller he said was attacked on January 26, 2020 by officers of the Executive Protection Service in the full view of its director while on active duty at the Samuel K. Doe Sports Stadium where Grand Kru and Nimba Counties engaged in the Finals duel of the County Meet of Liberia.
Although the wife of Zenu who reportedly told journalists said her husband died of ‘Internal Bleeding” after he had been complaining of chest pains, an uncle of the deceased said the journalist died from “Hypotension (High Blood Pressure)”, but declined to make public the Death Certificate.
But the Liberty party said in its press statement that the burden is therefore on the government, acting through the Ministries of Health and Justice, to ensure that all practical and honest actions are taken to clear the air of the apprehension that is once again defining the public’s attitude toward the security forces of this country.
“It is such action as Zenu’s unfortunate encounter with the EPS and his subsequent demise, whether coincidental or occurring on point, that goes into fashioning our country’s national and international image, of being a respecter of human rights or not,” the LP pointed out.
“We therefore join all peace-loving Liberians in calling for swift and comprehensive investigation into the death of this young and enterprising Liberian broadcast journalist. Liberty Party, at the same time, extends condolences to the family of Journalist Zenu Miller and the Press Union of Liberia for the loss,” the release concluded.