Gboko Stewart, gboko@journalrage.org
Monrovia–The caretaker of the house of the former CDC Chairman, Mulbah Morlu, has threatened to burn down the homes of several individuals suspected of being gay in a community along the Tubman Boulevard, a video obtained by journalRAGE has shown.
According to one of the victims who chose to be anonymous, the caretaker of Mr. Morlu’s home, known as Zinnah or “Z” led a marauding gang to the homes of several individuals including himself, asking their landlords to evict the individuals on the perception of being homosexuals, according to eyewitness accounts and excerpts from the video.
“While at work yesterday, I received a call from one of my neighbors at 1 pm that a group of community young men stormed my house and threatened to burn it down and kill me because they have received information that I am gay,” according to journalRAGE staff.
He said the men contacted his landlord, instructing him to be evicted or face severe consequences.
“They contacted my landlord and said he should give me notice or his property will be burnt down. After I returned from work, I contacted the community leadership and they promised to intervene.”
He said the intervention led to the Zinnah, ringleader of the marauding men being arrested. He has been charged
It remains unclear whether the former chairman of the Coalition of Democratic Change, Mulbah Morlu, is aware of the allegations leveled against his employee. Mr. Morlu could not be reached for comment.
Since his resignation from the CDC, Mr. Morlu has gone on to form STAND, a civil society organization that advocates for social justice.
Following preliminary investigations, the police charged Zinnah, the ringleader, with Terroristic Threat and Character Assassination.
LGBTQI+ persons continued to record instances of assaults, stigmatization, discrimination, harassment, and hate speech by community members. The 2023 US State Department report on the country continues to highlight instances of assault and abuse against the LGBT community.
In July of this year, Rep. Johnson Williams of River Gee County introduced a bill in the House of Representatives calling for lifetime imprisonment on persons suspected of being gays.
In May 2021, members of a community watch team allegedly beat three men on suspicion they were gays in the Gobachop community of Paynesville. According to two of the survivors, the community watch members threatened the three men and assaulted them, rendering one of the men unconscious.
In June 2021, Nuchie Michael, a teenager and a student at the St. Matthew United Methodist School in New Kru Town was expelled for cross-dressing. In 2020, Cheeseman Cole, a disgraced ex-soldier from the Armed Forces of Liberia was arrested for reportedly brutalizing 27 men suspected of being gay.
In November 2019, partygoers were stoned and beaten over suspicions they were attending a gay wedding at an event hosted by Population Services International (PSI).
In September 2018, invitees at a PSI event in Sinkor were attacked and severely brutalized.
The LGBT community faces worse discrimination as they are often blamed by religious leaders for spreading deadly diseases in the country.
Identifying as gay is not illegal in Liberia. But it could spur violent attacks against a person that does so. In May 2020, fashion model Tarus Cole fled the country over remarks that ‘99% of Liberian men are gay.’
Liberian law criminalizes same-sex sexual acts. Articles 14.74, 14.79, and 50.7 [of the Penal Code of 1976] consider “voluntary sodomy” as a first-degree misdemeanor, with a penalty of up to one-year imprisonment.