-Maj. General Prince C. Johnson III urges presidential candidates, as they met with Joint Security.
By: Leila B. Gbati
Presidential candidates have been called upon to stop allowing their private security to wear state security uniform, especially during elections period.
The call was made by the Chief of Staff of the Arm Forces of Liberia, Maj. General Prince C. Johnson III on Tuesday, August 8, 2023 at the Joint Security session with presidential candidates of Liberia held at the Ellen Johnson Ministerial Complex, Congo Town.
During the session, Maj. Johnson in a statement pleaded with the candidates that they shouldn’t allow their private securities wearstate securities uniform, because people will misunderstand seeing that person and think it is a AFL personal.
According to him, the law says individuals are to put the flag and name tag on the uniform before it becomes impersonating but some political parties carry security wearing just the BTU top part and acting as security.
Maj. Johnson revealed that sometimes he receives calls from people asking why AFL personal is at a particular gathering most especially political gatherings and they will have to explain that no the person is not an AFL personal but a private security.
“We hold your foot, please stop allowing your personal security using state security uniform. I even sometimes get call from my international friends that they see people wearing the United State Marine uniforms and other countries uniforms, remember I call you commander in chief in waiting how will you feel when somebody is calling you that they are occupying that position and seeing their uniform being used in next country,” he stated.
Speaking further, the Chief of Staff of the AFL told the presidential candidates that they are close to state power as such they should observe the law and stop their personal security from doing such emphasizing that is why they assigned police to them in order for their private securities to avoid using state uniform especially the BTU and comoflage.
“We are appealing to you, stop your security from using foreign uniforms, you are close to state power and violating those countries regulation”, he noted.
For his part, the Minister of Justice Cllr. Frank Musa Dean in an interview with reporters at the session, said that security is crucial in this election and most especially this is the first presidential and legislative elections to be conducted all along since the exit of UNMIL.
Cllr. Dean indicated that they expect to see all of the political parties and independent candidates abiding by the rule of law in this election.
He disclosed that for a while now they have been conducting community policing and will continue with their hierarchy police interaction with the communities explaining to them the need for peace and a peaceful election.
Cllr. Dean further stated that they believed that instilling peace in the minds of the people will go a long way because security come first from the people themselves and that was the message that went across to the presidential candidates during the session.
He mentioned that the national security will provide VIP protection and coordinate the securities of all candidates.
“There will be a larger security and we will have a control room where calls will be received from the field and coordinate by security personnel who will be in that room”, he asserted.
Meanwhile, Cllr. Dean said majority of the parties attended the session not necessarily by their standard bearers but accompanied by vice standard bearers and of course representatives.
He maintained that they will from time to time convene such a meeting to evaluate how the system they have introduced is working.
However, he urged political party to make sure that their partisan be law abiding with respect to what recently happened by CDC partisans.
“I’m happy that the party condemn the act and when the international community issued a statement referring to the party own condemnation of the act, I think it is a good beginning,” he said.
