Claim: “Police Shoot Live Bullet at the Congress for Democratic Change Headquarters.”
Source: Rep. Frank Saah Foko Jr. and Foday N. Massaquoi
Verdict: Misleading, there is no evidence that the Liberia National Police fired live bullets and killed partisans of the CDC.
Full Text: On Thursday, August 22, 2024, violence broke out in Monrovia after the LNP deployed riot police near the Congress for Democratic Change (CDC) headquarters, causing chaos and panic among supporters.
When officers from the Liberia Drug Enforcement Agency (LDEA) conducted an operation in the area, CDC supporters blocked Tubman Boulevard and accused state security officers of provocation.
The LDEA attempted to execute a search and seizure warrant at a property in the Small-Town Community but faced resistance from people believed to be supporters of the major opposition CDC because their headquarters was involved.
After the riot, Frank Saah Foko, Representative, Montserrado Country District #9 posted on his official Facebook handle on August 22, 2024, that the Liberia National Police during the protest shot a live bullet at the CDC Headquarters leaving one reported dead along Tubman Boulevard Road.
A similar claim was made by Foday N. Massaquoi, an executive member, of Congress for Democratic Change Council of Patriotic.
The claims attracted 64 reactions, 111 comments, 31 shares, and 2.7k plays respectively as of the time of this check.
CDC is a Liberian political party formed by supporters of Weah during the 2005 presidential campaign.
During the 11 October 2005 elections, Weah placed first in the presidential poll, winning 28.3% of the vote. He was defeated by Ellen Johnson Sirleaf of the Unity Party in the 8 November run-off election, winning 40.6% of the vote compared to Johnson-Sirleaf’s 59.4%.
In the 2017 presidential election, the party was a member of the Coalition for Democratic Change and won the presidency under Weah.
The party lost to the Unity Party in the 2023 general elections defeating the incumbent George Weah by less than 21,000 votes—making it the closest runoff in Liberia’s electoral history.
Verification: The government stated no lethal weapon was used and the operation was not intended to target the CDC’s headquarters.
Cecelia G. Clarke, Police spokesperson on August 23, 2024, clarified in a press conference that during the violent protest at the CDC headquarters, there was no life lost as claimed by both individuals and other members of the CDC.
Clarke said such information circulating on social media is untrue and misleading. “The man identified as Prince Zammie, 43, a resident of the Fiamah community who was seen unconscious was taken to the John F. Kennedy Referral Hospital for treatment by the LNP officers.”
She urged the public to verify the sources of their information before informing the public to cultivate false information noting that the publication of deceitful information is harmful and misleading.
To verify Massaquoi’s claim, we discovered that a video was widely shared, claiming that live bullets were fired by police but failing to disclose or show evidence of any deaths at the CDC offices.
A reverse image search of the video reveals findings of police riots from other occurrences and places that are unrelated to the fight at the CDC headquarters on August 22.
Conclusion: Based on the findings, we concluded that Frank Foko and Foday Massaquoi’s information is misleading.
