AS THE MINISTRY OF JUSTICE THREATENS TO PROSECUTE PERPETRATORS OF VIOLENCE AGAINST WOMEN POLITICIANS
Monrovia, Liberia – The Ministry of Justice has threatened to bring legal action against those who assault female candidates for public office. The Director of the Sexual Gender Based Violence, Domestic Violence for Rural Liberia at the Ministry of Justice has issued a warning that the organization will prosecute anybody who violently intimidates women politicians before, during, and after the 2023 elections.
Oneta Roberts stated that the Ministry will act impartially to preserve the rights of women running for legislative positions in the Liberian elections in an exclusive interview with a local radio station (Ok FM) in Monrovia on Wednesday, June 28, 2023.
She also mentioned that her department, along with similar organizations, had launched a concerted effort to educate Liberians, particularly those living in rural regions, about the process of dealing with violence against women during elections.
Following prejudice against female election participants in Liberia, the Justice Ministry has issued a threat. According to reports, Cornelius Krah Togba, a female candidate from the opposition Unity Party, was treated unfairly during the 2020 election in Montserrado County District #13 for which, she had to run for her life.
Similar circumstances forced CPP candidate Telia Uray to flee for her life in Montserrado County District #15. The female politician was squeezed through corners by her supporters to leave the district because her car was badly damaged beyond repair.
Botoe Kanneh, an independent candidate in the extraordinary senatorial elections in Gbapolu County, was subjected to yet another violation and forced to flee for her life in the forest after being attacked for running against well-known men who were unable to defeat her easily. However, Madam Botoe Kanneh won the election and is now the senator of that county as a result of her diligence and ties to her community.
