There is no argument that officials and players of Barrack Young Controllers are not sincerely happy of the team’s recent performance in the national soccer league.The reason is that BYC, the Liberian champions are set to leave the country on February 5, to honor their first leg CAF Cup Championship match against Ghana’s Asante Kotoko at the Baba Yara Sports Stadium in Kumasi.The Baba Yara Sports Stadium is Kotoko’s home-ground and the city of Kumasi is the home of the team.This means that Kumasi and its stadium are favorite places for Kotoko. The team is sometimes referred to as Kumasi Asante Kotoko. And like their traditional rivals, Hearts of Oak, is also known as Accra Hearts of Oak, since Accra is its home ground.It is no joke that Kotoko is taking the competition with all seriousness.For example, reports from Ghana indicate that at least eight players from Kotoko formed part of the Black Stars that reached the finals of the just ended 2014 CAF CHAN competition in South Africa.How prepared is BYC against Kotoko in Kumasi on February 9? A closer look at the team’s league matches is not encouraging, if that is the yardstick to measure the team’s seriousness.The team has played three recent matches, losing one, drawing one and winning one, none proving their preparedness for their match a team like Kotoko.The team’s 1-1 draw against Jubilee FC, and its victory 2-1 over Watanga last Sunday showed poor marksmanship. BYC has not put up any impressive performance in three matches. Can they change the tune and make a difference against a determined side like Kotoko?Does it make sense to wonder about what could happen in Kumasi on Sunday, February 9?It is absolutely unfair to pitch a poorly prepared team against one that is determined to reach the stars. Don’t accuse me of making a doomed prediction against BYC.Soccer competition survives on adequate preparation and I am not impressed with the team’s league performances, which should indicate their preparedness against any team outside Liberia, let alone Kotoko of Ghana.Except some miracles fall in favor of BYC, I am not sure the team’s coaches will still have their jobs, the day after February 9.The next problem is the chances of Red Lions against Equatorial Guinea’s Estrela Cantanhez.True, not many of us have heard of the exploits of Cantanhez, but qualifying for a CAF tournament means they have something to offer their countrymen.Now playing their first leg at home, one would think that Red Lions have prepared well and winning their league matches.A look at the Cellcom LFA League shows that Red Lions are dancing on the relegation zone.Red Lions have not shown any impressive and determined performance against any local team, let alone a foreign team and as a result there are more questions about what could happen in Monrovia on February 9.This conclusion should not surprise you, since the team is struggling to maintain a respectable position on the league.The two representatives must challenge themselves to play more than expected, if they are able to ensure favorable representations.Perhaps our two representatives can prove me wrong by playing above themselves to assure Liberian soccer fans that Liberian football is not dead.At least Cellcom has done enough and it is time for our club representatives to do their best, which means winning their matches against their opponents on February 9.Share this:Click to share on Twitter (Opens in new window)Click to share on Facebook (Opens in new window)
We watched as the world clapped for themWe breathed a relief over their loud victoriesWe hoped high as we felt meekness was fixedWe echoed the freedom of mighty all womenWe hold our breaths with excited jubilationWe mother the broken villages to stabilityEllen Joyce and Catherine ….. Mighty WomenWe lobbied endless in West Africa for a delivererWe ran and slept in the open streets for yearsWe destroyed our own kith and kin like a plagueWe killed men of same tribe who lived near usWe burnt churches with living people in themWe fought ethnic civil war that made no reasonEllen Joyce and Catherine ….. Mighty WomenWe stand on the precipice of a women ruled worldWe lay the stage for concrete peace non violenceWe oversee from the bleakest to the glamorousWe take in our strides those rejected and frailWe settle discontent in the jaws of massive gunsWe entrench democracy for tiny feet yet unbornEllen Joyce and Catherine ….. Mighty WomenShare this:Click to share on Twitter (Opens in new window)Click to share on Facebook (Opens in new window)
The ground of the Temple of Justice was, last Friday, a scene of shock and disbelief when family members and friends of Antoinette Nettie Peters disappointedly left her murder trial at Criminal Court ‘A’ at the Temple of Justice.The victim’s Ugandan UNMIL boyfriend, Bonfrer Adidee, in whose compound Nettie was stabbed to death, failed to show up to testify in the case.Nettie, as she was affectionately known, was allegedly murdered on January 3, 2013 by her private security guard, Jefferson Dahn. Dahn has since denied that he killed the victim.Adidee, who currently works with UNMIL’s Civil Affairs Section, was Subpoenaed by Criminal Court ‘A’ to appear before it and testified as state witness, last Friday.The decision was based on prosecution’s request to the Court, last Wednesday’s hearing for a “Subpoena Ad Testificandum” for a proper authority to liaise with UNMIL to ensure Adidee’s appearance on that day.Subpoena ad testificandum orders a person to testify before the ordering authority or face punishment.It can also request the testimony to be given by phone or in person.In that request, prosecution said Adidee currently works with UNMIL, and wants him to take the witness stand on behalf of government in the proceedings.That request was granted by the court and the Ministry of Justice (MOJ) was instructed to supervise Adidee’s appearance last Friday.Surprisingly, at Friday’s hearing Adidee did not show-up in court as was ordered by Judge Blamo Dixon.Neither did the Court nor the State lawyers mention anything about his not-shown up during the entire trial on Friday.It can be recalled that authorities of UNMIL Thursday, May 22, in a communication to the Daily Observer clarified that Adidee, the victim’s boyfriend, has not left Liberia, leaving the entire case behind as had been reported in some quarters.The communication further clarified; “he continues to work with the Mission and is physically present in the country.”In addition, they said, at the time of the Daily Observer Wednesday, May 24 [20] story titled ‘UNMIL Officer Fiancée’s Murder Case Begins,’ “the staff member was not summoned to appear before the Liberian court trying the alleged murder case.”They further stated in their communication, that they “collaborated with the Liberia National Police during the investigation stage of the case and stands ready to continue cooperating with authority in the proceedings related to the tragic incident.”Meanwhile, the two jury — Nathan Chea and Rachael Kun Suah — who were accused of allegedly communicating with defendant Jefferson Dahn’s family, were on Friday, May 23 removed from panel that is expected to assist Judge Blamo Dixon decide the case.The court’s decision follows prosecutors’ claimed that they saw jurors Chea and Suah at different locations communicating with defendant’s family members, praying the Court to conduct an immediate investigation.Share this:Click to share on Twitter (Opens in new window)Click to share on Facebook (Opens in new window)
The County Agriculture Coordinator (CAC) of Nimba, N. Samuel Kehleay, has said that the lack of coordination on the part of some partners in the agricultural sector poses problems to food production in the county.He said some projects carried out in the past few years in Nimba County by partners did not make the necessary impact.Kehleay made the disclosure to the Daily Observer in an exclusive interview recently in Doumpa town, Nimba County during the dedication of three rice business hubs for local farmers.The facilities were initiated by USAID Food and Enterprise Development Program for Liberia.Kehleay said modern farming equipment donated by partners to some farmer organizations in the county are found to be in deplorable conditions.He attributed the problem to the lack of proper selection of farming organizations to benefit agricultural programs, stating that the equipment was not properly maintained.“We need to set up special criteria in identifying farmers’ organizations that will benefit from agricultural programs, if we are going to enhance food production in the county,” Kehleay suggested. He said farmers must be taught how to maintain the power tillers and different types of agriculture equipment to improve their level of productivity.“This also requires that responsible leadership be put in place to ensure that these properties are properly taken care of,” he added.Kealeay further said all farm inputs (machines) in the county must be monitored by the MoA’s sub-office for proper accountability.“When our office is informed about the contributions of partners to the various farming organizations, it should be our responsibility to ensure proper monitoring,” he said.The Nimba county CAC disclosed two tractors were given the county by government to enhance the works of farmers.He said that the tractor was in the county to expand the projects of farming organizations at a minimum cost.At the same time, Kehleay has said limited number of extension workers in Nimba County is a constraint for his office.He said there are an increasing number of farmers in need of technical assistance.Share this:Click to share on Twitter (Opens in new window)Click to share on Facebook (Opens in new window)
President Ellen Johnson Sirleaf has vowed to personally intervene and ensure that justice is done concerning the rape and subsequent death of 12-year-old Ma Musu Fofana, which occurred on Sunday, January 18. Joined on Friday, January 23 by the Gender, Children and Social Protection Minister Julia Duncan Cassell, the President paid a special visit to the family of the girl at their Moulton Corner residence in Brewerville, outside Monrovia, to sympathize with them.“I am shocked that someone could be so wicked and devilish to the extent of raping and killing an innocent child in such brutal manner,” the President told the bereaved family. “I thought it was very important to come here and see the family myself. I am truly sorry and extend sympathy to the bereaved family for this loss.”Justice, in this case, according to the Liberian President, is not only against the perpetrator, but all those who one way or the other contributed to the death of the rape victim. These include various health facilities where she was refused treatment and some LNP officers who denied passage at a check-point of the vehicle that was conveying the victim for treatment.Ma Musu Fofana, the little girl, who many described as resourceful and full of potential, was on Sunday, January 18, brutally raped by 49-year-old Musa Kanneh, a man who many now described as a barbaric and evil minded.President Sirleaf assured the family that her government takes rape seriously and will leave no stone unturned in bringing perpetrators of rape – especially Kanneh – to justice. “I am awaiting the outcome of the investigation, which is ongoing. We will allow the police and the Justice Ministry to do their job, but let me assure you that the perpetrator of this wicked act will pay dearly in keeping with law,” she assured the family members.She pointed out that government is concerned about the roles played by different actors following the raping of the child and has requested the Ministry of Justice to probe the situation to facilitate informed actions. “We want to know why she was reportedly rejected by some health centers, and how it got difficult to get her to the John F. Kennedy Hospital in time. We want to know if other factors contributed to her death and who was responsible for those actions,” she indicated.The Liberian President also used the opportunity to sound a strong warning to would-be rapists that government is fed-up with their wicked behavior and would come strongly after rapists who are bent on destroying children young enough to be their own children. She then encouraged all citizens to see the fight against rape as everyone’s business and join in stopping the victimization of the many innocent children who are being abused and harmed.The biological mother, Massa Morris and stepfather, Emmanuel Morris, and several of the victim’s family members were on hand to receive the Liberian leader during the visit.The late Ma Musu’s aunt, Fatu Morris, who the child was staying with prior to her demise, briefed President Sirleaf on the circumstances that led to the raping and subsequent death of little girl and the difficulties encountered in trying to save her life.She informed President Sirleaf that both Redemption Hospital and Faith Clinic turned the patient away when she was taken there for treatment. She also highlighted the difficulty in getting the raped child to the JFK Hospital. “She is gone and we are now looking up to the government to give us justice,” Fatu Morris stressed.Other family members thanked President Sirleaf for her interest and visit and expressed the hope that justice will be done to the one who took the life of their young daughter.Share this:Click to share on Twitter (Opens in new window)Click to share on Facebook (Opens in new window)