BY Thomas Kojo Roulhac
Liberia Football Association president, Mustapha Raji who is known for his aggressive utterances and lazy stereotyping, has branded critical radio stations across the country as Radio Kigali due to their professional stands against the alleged poor handling of football in the country.
Radio Kigali was a Rwandan radio station that broadcast from July 8, 1993, to July 31, 1994. It played a significant role in inciting the Rwandan genocide that took place from April to July 1994 and has been described by some scholars as having been a de
facto arm of the Hutu government.
During the genocide, which lasted for around 100 days, around 500,000 members of the Tutsi minority ethnic group, as well as some moderate Hutu and Twa, were killed by armed Hutu militias.
Addressing journalists on Friday, August 30, 2024, at a day-long media engagement, Raji alleged that many stations normally spread false and misleading information on their respective platforms.
“If you like, report only bad news on LFA because there are many Radio Kigali (s) in Monrovia now” he aggressively said.
Raji made the statement in response to a journalist who asked if he [Mustapha Raji] doesn’t feel embarrassed as president of the Liberia Football Association about the country’s inability to qualify for any major competitions apart from hosting.
Since his ascendency to the LFA Presidency in 2018, Prime FM and Freedom FM have been among the few stations raising red flags with happening at the country’s football governing body.
It can also be recalled on April 13, 2024, Raji labeled Frontpage Africa as an unprofessional media institution for publishing a statement from former national team striker and coach, James Debbah.
Debbah on April 24, 2023, accused LISCR and Watanga of match-fixing in a post on his Facebook page.
He claimed that the two clubs were owned by the “emperor” and the president of the LFA’s assistant, Deputy Minister of Sports G. Andy Quamie, but he did not provide any evidence to support his claims.
A few days later in May 2024 LFA invited Debbah to a conference about his social media post and launched an investigation into his statement which the outcome is yet to be made public to journalists and football followers of the country.
Over a year into the investigation, FPA Sports reporter, Jaheim T. Tumu asked Raji about the status of the investigation but Raji responded in an angry mood and turned the reporter and the media outlet as unprofessional.
