By: Stephen G. Fellajuah
Email fellajuahstepheng@gmail.com
Former ruling Unity Party (UP) over the weekend rubbished the Liberia National Fire Service (LNFS) investigative report that its Chairman Dr. J. Luther Tarpeh’s home was gutted by fire as the result of fire from an extension cord, when the party termed the report as lack of independence and technical capabilities on the part of LNFS to write any credible report.
“As predicted, the Liberia National Fire Service on August 26, 2022, without the knowledge of the affected family, released what they considered as “fire incident investigation report” in the arson attack that led to the burning down of one of the houses and official vehicle in the compound of the Chairman of the Unity Party, Dr. J. Luther Tarpeh” UP stated in a release issued during the weekend.
It may be recalled the Liberia National Fire Service on August 26, 2022 released its report and investigative finding into the arson attacked that lead to the burning down of the home of Unity Party newly elected Chairman Rev. Tarpeh.
LNFS indicated in its report which was read by their Director General Col. Alex Dickson at the Ministry of Information Culture Affairs and Tourism Conference Room, stating that Chairman Tarpeh’s home was gutted by fire as the result of the burning of an extension cord.
“This report is open to be challenge and if anyone thinks that this investigation finding is not true they can conduct their own investigation. We took our time conducting this investigation and what we are giving the public here is nothing but the truth” Dickson noted.
But UP trashed the report and categorized it as false narrative written by the regime to brazenly extricate CDC operatives of being the masterminds behind the reported arson attack.
According to the statement, eyewitness account on the morning of the incident attest that prior to the attack, a certain black jeep was seen slowly driving at the edge of Mr. Tarpeh’s fence where it parked for a while and later two gentlemen disembarked and walked slowly toward the middle of the fence.
The former ruling regime explained that as the gentlemen entered the vehicle and drove off, the account revealed that it did not take any long when smoke sprouted from the fence which later grew into wildfire.
‘It is sad that so-called Fire Service personnel who lack the elementary sense to keep water in fire trucks, would want to hoodwink Liberians into believing that they have the technical capabilities to investigate the cause of a fire that was started in the garage where there is no wall-circuit for extension cord” UP disclosed.
Unity Party argued that where in the World investigators arrogantly bragging and threatening to resign should anybody prove their ridiculous report erroneous if such crooked elements are not backed by a failed regime? Nowhere else but Liberia, a nation where the suspended sanctioned Minister of State still enjoys state security protection through EPS and commands the same level of influence as if he is still Minister of State, the release added.
It noted that the government earlier prejudiced the outcome of this investigative report when it denied that Chairman Tarpeh’s home was attacked by thugs, which is why the report was written to justify this conclusion.
“The Unity Party strongly rejects the attempt by the GoL to downplay the scale of physical damage caused on the properties of its chairman as a result of the reported attack and requests an independent forensic investigation which it may consider credible.
While we empathize with the LNFS for the huge technical capacity gap due to the lack of support from GoL, the party urges Fire Service to refrain from being used as pawn in the CDC cover-up shenanigans” the release stated further
