Claim: The Boakai government is chasing after journalists who supported the Coalition for Democratic (CDC).
Source: Jefferson Koijee, former Monrovia City Corporation (MCC) mayor on Radio Saclepea, Nimba TV Limited
Verdict: Jefferson Kojie’s claim about Boakai’s government attacking journalists is misleading.
Full text: On September 3, 2024, former Monrovia city mayor, Jefferson T. Kojiee, claimed that the Joseph Boakai-led government is chasing after “journalists” who supported the Coalition for Democratic Change (CDC).
Kojiee, secretary general of the opposition CDC, made the claim when he appeared on radio Saclepea FM 101.5 “Talking Point,” also streamed live on Nimba TV Limited.
Nimba TV Limited, an online platform, is owned and operated by journalist Christopher Fahn, who is the host of “Talk Point” on radio Saclepea.
Koijee, who joined the show via a phone interview from Monrovia, made several claims against the Boakai’s administration.
The claim is found around 22 minutes, 39 seconds. “Even God who created us gives us the right to have free will, but in Boakai Liberia, journalists are chased because they have been perceived as being associated with the Coalition for Democratic Change,” said Koijee.
What is unclear is that Koijee did not mention the names of the journalists pursued by Boakai’s government or where they were apprehended.
Verification: We contacted Koijee to verify the claim, but he could not answer after several calls were placed on his Lonestar and Orange numbers, 0886407969 and 0779229900.
TSM then contacted Mr. Peter Quaqua, the interim head of the Press Union of Liberia (PUL), about the claim but he could not confirm or deny that journalists have been chased by the Boakai’s administration for supporting the CDC, as stated by Kojiee.
However, Quaqua redirected our researcher to Koijee to give the names and locations that the government has been chasing after journalists.
“Liberia is a big country; when an incident of such happened and has not been reported in the news or brought to our attention, we cannot say yes or no to this kind of inquiry,” Mr. Quaqua said.
A review of the Reporter without Borders 2024 update shows that no journalist has died or been detained since January 2024.
Conclusion: Our research revealed that Mr. Jefferson T. Koijee’s claim that President Boakai’s government pursued journalists who supported the Coalition for Democratic Change is false.
Written by: Emmanuel S. Woleh, grant fellow
