Having realized Koijee’s energy, youthful innovation, exuberance and charisma, the opposition is now stooping to the belly of erstwhile TRC Head, Jerome Verdier with a barrage of unsubstantiated accusations.
They have now retorted to character assassination; this entire episode started with a smear campaign to demoralize the capacity and capabilities of Jefferson Tamba Koijee long before his appointment to the City Government. His credentials were on display for the wrong reasons, his thoughts and actions were bullied and the Senate was requested not to confirm him amongst others, he, however, surpassed that heroically.
Today, he manages over five thousand persons at the Monrovia City Government and woos thousands whenever he visits counties of no origin to him, even unannounced. Salaries and administrative run of the MCC remain intight and staff are effective and efficient and decency restored to the public space with innovation.
This sustained propaganda is meant to de-market Koijee and get him to lose credibility amongst the young people across the country where he seems to have a commanding influence.
Jerome Verdier has linked Koijee to hiring 200 men from Ivory Coast to disrupt the June 7, 2019 protest after initially announcing that the Mayor had an affair with his wife which she denounced; Mrs. Verdier said in an interview in August 2022 “I never met Jefferson Koijee before and don’t know him.”
These deliberate, malicious and unjustified accusations are meant to pull Mayor Koijee down because his energetic and intriguing spirit demoralizes the opposition.
He has refused to get trapped by their accusations, or reduce himself to their levels but keeps moving with intelligence, conviction and winning mentality.
Jestina Taylor, for example was hired by Jerome Verdier and co- conspirators to become a key witness in antagonizing Koijee when she misrepresented facts and distorted information to get at Koijee, ended up in the US but today is without legitimacy and loitering in the corridors unable to be a witness as the US Congress has since discredited her as not being a credible witness.
When he linked Koijee to being Child Soldier, it took several of his fellow TRC Commissioners to debunk him uprightly: Rev. Dr. Pearl Brown Bull, John Stewart, Jeror Coleman and Massa Washington amongst others. In Fact when the war fought, Koijee was a complete baby to say the least and never a day was ever called before the TRC all through its operations under President Ellen Johnson- Sirleaf.
Jefferson Koijee and others worked with the same Verdier to propose the idea of a War Crimes Court establishment in Liberia and they didn’t rest but protested on August 13, 2009 while Mrs. Hilary Clinton was visiting Liberia. He and other youthful actors called for the full implementation of the TRC report; they were arrested, brutalized and imprisoned. Verdier is aware of all these.
Koijee is noted for being a national youth activist who has championed the cause for women, children and the vulnerable community including being a face for calling for Justice in the famous Angel Togba murder case. He was a lead campaigner for several other young people who died mysteriously: late student Augustine Gorlotoh (March 2008 Gbarnga), Alvin Davis murder case (2008), Vewu Kesselly murder (2010) amongst other high profile cases while serving as National Secretary General of the National Student Intellectual Council of Liberia (NASICOL).
It’s still fresh in our minds that Cllr. Verdier linked the CDC long before it even came to power that the party was responsible for the death of Liberian musical star, Quincy B who died in a tragic motor accident March 3, 2017.
The CDC had not even come to power when these accusations started by Cllr. Verdier who was bent on a mission to destroy & deface the entire CDC Government and Mayor Koijee.
Besides linking the March 3, 2019 death of Matthew Innis of the Central Bank to Varlee Telleh, whom he said used a pickup belonging to Mayor Koijee, it has now been established that Mr. Telleh was only employed with the City Government by 1st July 2020 and until then had no connection with the Mayor.
It’s foolhardy to say Varlee Telleh was used by Mayor Koijee in the armed robbery situation at the home of Cllr Gloria Musu Scott and then when quizzed by Police, Mr. Verdier said he had only given a lead but had no evidence whatsoever to the allegations he leveled.
This is after he had leveled preponderance of allegations that Varlee Telleh is the “murderer,” is “Deputy for Operations at the City Government ” amongst others. Varlee Telleh, it has been established is Patrol Man at the City Government.
In his accusation he continued at some point that “Varlee Telleh was murdered along the Bomi Highway to conceal information,” and later that “Varlee Telleh has been taken out to the Ivory Coast through Nimba County to bring to a close the issue.” It turned out that Varlee attended a press conference and also appeared at the Police HQ. Cllr. Verdier is a product of misinformation and contradictions.
All these baseless allegations can safely say Cllr. Verdier has now turned into a tool at the hands of desperate politicians for the sole purpose of malicious character assassination of the Mayor of Monrovia.
Comments are closed.