Correct! Margibi County Attorney Ordered Detention of Reporters At Kakata Central Prison

 Claim: “County attorney Deddeh Wilson ordered the detention of Gono Elvis, ELBC Reporter, and Philip Gbana, public relations officer for City Cooperation at  Kakata Central Prison.”

Source: Amb Levi Page, Chief of Staff of  Margibi District #4 Representative. 

Verdict: Correct! County Attorney Deddeh Wilson ordered the duo's detention at Kakata Central Prison.

Full Text: On Monday, February 10, 2025, Amb Levi Page, chief of office staff in the offices of MarGibi County District #4 Representative, Emmanuel O. Yarh, took to his official Facebook account and claimed that MarGibi County Attorney, Deddeh Wilson, ordered the arrest and detention of ELBC Margibi County Correspondent, Elvis Presley Gono, and Kakata City Cooperation Public Relations Officer, Philip Gbana, stating no reason, thus leaving people questioning Wilson's decision to incarcerate journalists. 

"County Attorney Deddeh Wilson ordered the detention of ELBC reporter Gono Elvis and City Cooperation P.R.O. Philip Gbana at  Kakata Central Prison."

This post generated 12 likes and 30 comments, with many not knowing the reason (s) behind their detention in prison. 

Verification: We contacted Attorney Wilson, who confirmed the claim and stated failure on the part of Gono and Gbana to produce a crime suspect whom they stood as guarantor for in September 2024 as reasons for their arrest.

The Margibi County attorney said “they were charged with contempt of Court.” 

They were arrested at the 13th Judicial Circuit Court in Margibi County where they had gone to provide coverage of the opening of the February term of Court, and released on February 13, 2025, based on the intervention of the Press Union of Liberia. 

PUL is the mother organization for all journalists and media organizations operating in Liberia.

Upon their release from prison, Gono and Gbana described their detention as unwarranted and an abuse of judicial authority. 

According to them, no formal request was made for them to produce the suspect in question before their arrest. 

The PUL, through a press statement, also called for an independent investigation to clarify the circumstances surrounding the detention. The inquiry is expected to determine whether Margibi County Attorney Deddeh Wilson acted beyond her authority or if the journalists had violated any legal obligations.

Conclusion: From our verification, we can confirm that the circulated claim on the detention of a journalist and public relations officer by the Margibi County Attorney is correct.

    Written by Patrick Moryor ( Margibi Fellow)