The Judge of the Monrovia City Court, L. Ben Barco, has released several residents of the Fendell community that were detained for four days at the Liberia National Police headquarters in Monrovia.
Those released were detained after several citizens of the community were protesting for their land that was demolished in 2016, for which they claimed the government of Liberia owes them over US$5 million.
The recent protest led to the arrest and detention of 17 individuals who were charged with rioting, criminal mischief, and simple assault.
Those released were Viola Lincoln, Thompson Chea, John Singbah, Joseph David, Michale A. Kamara, Mama Richards, John Morris, Handful Doedeh, Joseph Tokpah, Sam Garmuyor, Cyrus Johnson, Jeremiah Singbah, Godfrey Roberts, Kingston Johnson, Vicia Lincoln, among others.
Speaking after her release, Madam Viola Lincoln, chair lady of Fendell Community, said the leadership has been in communication with the government of Liberia to resettle them.
Since their homes were demolished in 2016, those affected have called for a resettlement package that was initially worth US$40 million, but according to Madame Lincoln, the government negotiated and brought it down to a minimum of US$5 million.
“The government later turned us over to the Ministry of Public Works for the disbursement of the funds agreed upon by both parties, but since then, we are yet to receive any payment despite filling out forms, submitting relevant documents, and receiving ID cards from the government,” the chair lady explained.
She noted that based on the government’s failure to disburse the funds as promised, those affected began protesting for their money, which led to the arrests of several individuals, including her.
“This government claimed that it was not during their regime that the homes were demolished, so they could not pay us anything,” Madam Lincoln averred.
Meanwhile, those released have warned that they will continue their protest against the government of Liberia, noting that the government owes them US$5 million for the demolition of their homes back in 2016 during the administration of former President Ellen Johnson Sirleaf.
They vowed to remain constant in their protesting until they received their payments.
