UN Says Haiti Is Not Alone

- Says Secretary General Ban Ki-moon, Laments Disaster
Saying the Southern American Country of Haiti hit by an earthquake recently is not alone, United nations secretary General Ban Ki-moon also indicated that the disaster in Haiti shows once again something that we, as human beings, have always known: that even amid the worst devastation, there is always hope.
“I saw that for myself this week in Port au Prince. The UN suffered its single greatest loss in history. Our headquarters in the Haitian capital was a mass of crushed concrete and tangled steel. How could anyone survive, I thought? Yet moments after I departed, with a heavy heart, rescue teams pulled out a survivor – alive, after five days, buried, without food or water. I think of it as a small miracle, a sign of hope,” Mr. Ban lamented.
He said such disasters as that in Haiti remind the world of the fragility of life, but also reaffirm our strength.
“We have seen horrific images on television: collapsed buildings, bodies in the streets, people in dire need of food, water and shelter. I saw all this, and more, as I moved around the stricken city. But I also saw something else — a remarkable expression of human spirit, people suffering the heaviest blows yet demonstrating extraordinary resilience,” the UN boss accentuated.
The UN Secretary General was commenting on the Haitian disaster, an earthquake which devastated the country and its people. He said during his brief visit in that Caribbean country, he met with many ordinary people, noting that a group of young men near the ruins of the presidential palace told him of wanting to help rebuild Haiti.
“Beyond the immediate crisis, they hope for jobs, a future with dignity, work to do. Across the street, I met a young mother with her children living in a tent in a public park, with little food,” Mr. Ban noted, saying that there were thousands like her, patiently enduring, helping one another as best they could.
“She had faith that help would soon come, as did others. “I came to offer hope,” I told them. “Do not despair.” In return she, too, asked the international community to help Haiti to rebuild — for her children, for the generations of tomorrow,” Mr. Ban observed.
For those who have lost everything, he said help cannot come soon enough. “But it is coming, and in growing amounts despite very difficult logistical challenges in a capital city where all services and capacity are gone. As of Monday morning, more than 40 international search and rescue teams with more than 1700 staff were at work. Water supplies are increasing; tents and temporary shelters are arriving in larger numbers,” the UN boss assured.
Ban added that badly damaged hospitals are beginning to function again, aided by international medical teams. Meanwhile, the World Food Program is working with the U.S. army to distribute daily food rations to nearly 200,000 people; he said the agency expects to reach as many as one million people within the coming weeks, building toward two million.
“We have seen an outpouring of international aid, commensurate with the scale of this disaster. Every nation, every international aid organization in the world, has mobilized for Haiti’s relief. Our job is to channel that assistance. We need to make sure our help gets to the people who need it, as fast as possible. We cannot have essential supplies sitting in warehouses. We have no time to lose, nor money to waste. This requires strong and effective coordination— the international community working together, as one, with the United Nations in the lead,” he accentuated..
Indicating further that this critical work began from the first day, both among UN and international aid agencies as well as among key players, he disclosed that that the United Nations is working closely with the United States and the countries of Europe, Latin America and many others to identity the most pressing humanitarian needs and deliver what is required.
“These needs must be grouped into well-defined “clusters,” so that the efforts of all the various organizations complement rather than duplicate one another. A health cluster run by the World Health Organization, for example, is already organizing medical assistance among 21 international agencies,” he averred.
Ban said the urgency of the moment will naturally dominate our planning. But it is not too early to begin thinking about tomorrow, a point that President Rene Preval emphasized when he met him, the UN Secretary General during the visit.
Though desperately poor, Haiti had been making progress. It was enjoying a new stability; investors had returned. It will not be enough to rebuild the country as it was, nor is there any place for cosmetic improvements.
In this respect, Mr. Ban said, “We must help Haiti build back better, working side by side with the government, so that the money and aid invested today will have lasting benefit, creating jobs and freeing it from dependence on the world’s generosity.”
In this sense, according to him, Haiti’s plight is a reminder of our wider responsibilities. A decade ago, the international community began a new century by agreeing to act to eliminate extreme poverty by the year 2015.
He said great strides have been made toward some of these ambitious “Millennium goals,” variously targeting core sources of global poverty and obstacles to development from maternal health and education to managing infectious disease. Yet progress in other critical areas lags badly. The bottom line: we are very far from delivering on our promises of a better future for the world’s poor.
Concluding, the United Nations boss said: As we rush to Haiti’s immediate aid, let us keep in mind this larger picture. That was the message I received, loud and clear, from those people on the streets of Port au Prince. They asked for jobs, dignity and a better future. That is the hope of the all world’s poor, wherever they might live. Doing the right thing for Haiti, in its hour of need, will be a powerful message of hope for them as well.
Source: www.unmil.org

New Threshold Gives Montserrado 27 Seats In Parliament

…Some Senators Threaten Court Action


By: Papie Sheriff Kollie Jr.
(Senate Protemp Wortorson Photo inserted)

At the passage of the controversial Threshold Bill of Liberia at 40,000 per constituency by the Plenary of the Liberian Senate Wednesday during a Special Session, few senators have threatened to challenge the passage of the Bill at the Supreme Court of Liberia.
It was reported from the Joint Assembly Chamber where Senate business was done yesterday that each of the senators present was given at most three minutes each to give their positions on the Threshold before votes were taken, which was done. Not withstanding the majority support the Threshold Bill enjoyed at 40,000 per constituency, some seven senators firmly opposed the passage even after the vote-taking.
Amongst the senators were Theodore Momo and Daniel Naathan of Gbarpolu, Gloria Musu Scott of and John Ballout of Maryland, Saye Tayor Dolo (Aldolphus Dolo) of Nimba County and Lahai Lansana of Bomi .
The opposing Senator contended that the Threshold Bill should be passed at 50,000 per constituency said the Government has already said it has no money to sponsor additional lawmakers that would be elected as a result of the new threshold.
Also opposed to the new Threshold was River-Gee County Senior Senator Fredrick Cherue who considered the threshold passage at 40,000 unconstitutional and will also serve as a ploy to put more economic burden of the government when it comes to supporting the additional representations created by the threshold.
As a consequence the opposing senators threatened to take their colleagues to the Supreme Court to seek judicial redress on the matter, as they walked out of the session in protest of the passage of the Threshold at 40,000.
Our legislative reporter said the senators walkout minutes after Pro-Tempore Cletus Wotorson announced that that with 17 senators for, seven against, two abstained and two absent, the controversial Threshold Bill was now passed at without any provision attached unlike before, the opposing senators walked out of the Plenary Session and an attempt to called them back to session did not materialize.
The Sergeant-At-Arms who the Pro-Tempore sent to call the protesting Senators back to session reported that the senators said they were no longer coming to session.
On the basis of the decision, the Senate announced that it would sanction the senators that walked out of the session apparently for disrespect to the plenary, but the Senate Pro-Tempore did not specify the sanction.
Meanwhile, with the voting of the document into law Wednesday, the Threshold Bill will now be sent to the President for Signature.
The Passage of the Threshold Bill at 40,000 per Constituency, kit means that representation at the lower House of Parliament is to by 16 Representatives, with Montserrado alone taking 13 Representatives, since it has the density of population at 1.1 million people. By this increase, Montserrado will now be represented with 27 lawmakers at the House of Representatives, followed by Nimba, Bong and Lofa Counties, which will be represented by 11, 8 and 6 Representatives respectively.
Recently, a team of seventeen Senators has written the Senate seeking a concurrence vote on the controversial population threshold bill. The Senators said the passage of the threshold bill is a constitutional imperative and a conditional precedent for the 2011 elections.
In a two page letter they pledged support for the forty-thousand threshold passed by the House of Representatives. The seventeen Senators from eleven Counties asked the Senate to take a decision on the threshold bill by Tuesday, January 19.
One of the seventeen Senators Mobutu Nyepan of Sinoe warned, any attempt to delay the passage of the threshold bill would harm Liberia’s young democracy. Also, Nimba County Representative Madam Nohn Rebecca Kidau, has observed that the proposed Threshold Bill submitted to the National Legislature by the National Elections Commission (NEC) is indeed critical to the holding of free and fair democratic elections in Liberia come 2011.
Representative Kidau who is member of the House Committee on Executive, Gender Equity, Lands, Mines and Natural Resources, intimated that, it is a common logic and reasoning that there can be no free and fair elections in the country in the absence of proper constituency demarcation and districts harmonization which are relevant issues that must be addressed through the speedy passage of the Threshold Bill.
The lawmaker told reporters Tuesday that it is expedient that her colleagues within the Legislature proceed with the passage of the Threshold Bill on the basis of population statistics produced by the Liberia Statistics and Geo-Information Services (LISGIS) during the national census which was carried out.
Representative Kidau has meanwhile disclosed that series of discussions and consultations aimed at resolving lands conflicts in her county (Nimba) are ongoing and further revealed that a special committee comprising of some key individuals from diverse ethnic and tribal backgrounds in the country have since been constituted for the sole purpose of finding meaningful solutions to land crises in the area. She has promised to continue her development projects in her county.
This is the second time the Liberia Senate has concurred with the House of Representatives by passing the controversial threshold bill that experienced hitches at the Legislature for some differences amongst lawmakers.
The Senators yesterday went into an extraordinary session to obtain votes that would ensure passage of the bill after intense public pressure bore on them for their delay to concur with the lower House, which passed the bill at 40,000 per constituency.
The National Population Threshold Bill originated from the National Elections Commission, which set the population threshold at 38 per constituency, but the projection triggered contentions amongst lawmakers some of whom stated that the threshold proposed would deprive their counties or districts appropriate representation at the National Legislature.
Amid the bickering, public outcries and international pressure pushed the House to pass the Population Threshold Bill at 40,000 but when it went into the Senate, the contention lingered, causing prolonged bickering.
On Wednesday, bickering intensified when Senator Jewell Howard Taylor Wednesday made a motion for the passage of the controversial threshold bill at 40,000, she received a backlash from other senators who stepped on the motion on grounds that the threshold should be at 48,000 persons per constituency.
The motion generated an irking debate which brought the two opposing sides at each others’ throats with journalists gazing as though there was a motion picture being shown in the Senate Chamber. Apparently, the show was observed to be the incumbent Unity Party versus the out-of power National Patriotic Party acting for passage the threshold bill.
The bill was passed at 40,000 per constituency by the House of Representatives at the end of heavy bickering and prolonged hearing that aggravated public pressure which led to its passage. The contention has been that counties with a smaller population would be either under-represented in parliament or without any representation while those with larger populations have argued that the threshold bill is constitutional.
When the bill was sent to the Senate for concurrence, it got stalled. But a committee which handled it reported that it increased the threshold to 48,000 per constituency with at least two representatives across the board before the application of the threshold, a suggestion which has never sufficed up to present.
Accordingly, there has been immense consultation amongst senators to mitigate the impasse until yesterday when the Jewel Howard-Taylor motion was raised with a resistance that seemed to further stall its passage.
During yesterday’s session, Senator Abel Massaley of Grand Cape Mount County and a stalwart of the National Patriotic Party made an opening statement in which he said the Unity Party doesn’t want the Threshold Bill to be passed. In his statement, Senator Massaley indicated that he will join the civil society group and other groupings to see to it that the Unity Party doesn’t succeed in passing this controversial Threshold Bill.
Bomi County Senator Richard Devine reacting to Massaley from a Unity Party point of view said the NPP is no longer in existence, and that NPP will not be allowed to stall progress of the Unity Party, especially in stalling the passage of the Threshold Bill. Senator Devine indicated that he will make sure that he does not form part of what ever thing that is going to affect the people of Bomi.
At the senate session Wednesday, 25 Senators were present to vote the bill; when the presiding officer requested for votes, 11 senators voted for the passage of the Bill at 40,000 and while 14 were against.
Those who were for the bill at 40,000 include Senators Jewel Taylor, Joyce Freeman, Masseley, Prince Johnson amongst others, while those who were against the bill passed at 40,000 but instead at 48,000 were Maryland County Senator Gloria Scott, Bomi’s Richard Devine, Maryland’s John Ballout, Grand Bassa’s Gbazongar Finely, and Bomi’s Laiha Lansana amongst others.
Apparently the development at the Senate suggests refusal by the Liberian Senate to concur with the House of Representatives in the passing the National Threshold Bill at 40,000 per constituency, without addressing pertinent concerns.
The delay in passing the controversial National Threshold Bill currently before the Senate has ignited local and International criticisms on the national Legislative, which have apparently compelled its passage by the House of Representative pending senate concurrence.
Notwithstanding Thursday, however, there were threats of demonstrations by some civil society members who have decided to pressure the Senate to pass the bill so that it would not hinder progress in preparation for the 2011 presidential and general elections.
Our reporter from the Capitol said senators were seen Thursday engaged by so many civil society organization members on ground that the senators should see reason to pass the bill in the national interest.
Amongst the civil society organization members seen at the Capitol were the Justice of the Peace (JPC) director in person of Augustine Toe and others.
The Senate Committee Chairman on Executive, Nathaniel Nathan of Gbarpulo County who was the presiding, recognized Senator Franklin Siakor of Bong County to make the motion. Senator Siakor, in his motion suggested that the bill which was brought to us from the lower house for concurrence remains at 40,000 as the national threshold with no counties having less than two seats across the board.
The motion was overwhelmingly accepted with 16 votes in favor of the 40,000 for the reason that the bill should not be held hostage, while 9 was against the bill at 40,000. The senators told journalist that a Conference Committee will be set up next Tuesday to see how best they can negotiate with the lower house for the provision to be accepted.
Source: The NEW VISION Newspaper in Monrovia

CBL, CELLCOM Collaborate

Issue Guidelines To Protect Customers Interest in Debentures Scheme
By: Bill K. Jarkloh
Photo: CBL Governor Dr. Mill Jones

Weblog: www.theperiscope.com/www.panwhanpen.com
Email: bill_ksolborjarkloh@yahoo.com
Call: (231)-77-544-286/(231)-6-468-244

As the Management of the Central Bank of Liberia in collaboration with CELLCOM GSM service provider moves to protect the interest of Convertible Debentures, the GSM company says regulatory agencies of government such as the Central Bank should also address Concerns about the need for developing and regulating underdeveloped sectors and complementing factors of growing economy.

Commenting at a joint Central Bank of Liberia and CELLCOM press briefing Monday, CELLCOM’s Board Chairman, Mr. Zaidenberg noted the company’s gratitude to Governor Jones and officials of the Central Bank of Liberia for the opportunity during the course of what he called “meaningful engagements to explore what is really unchartered financial territory in Liberia.”

Although the Offering of Convertible Debentures is new to Liberia, Mr. Zaidenberg said the CBL-CELLCOM engagements have afforded the company the chance to act positively and progressively together to consider the evolving possibilities of its growing economy, enhance the public trust and confidence and to develop appropriate mechanisms to embrace what is a certain future in the conduct of business in Liberia.

The CELLCOM Board Chairman, saying that regulatory institutions such as the CBL exercising authority without fear or favor will not only provide assurance for collective quests for increased integrity, orderliness and safeguard of public trust but also address Concerns about the need for developing and regulating underdeveloped sectors and complementing factors of growing economy.

“At CELLCOM, we believe in our individual and collective capacities to be better. This is why we are Liberia’s fastest growing business. All the CELLCOM has tried to do in Liberia affirm our belief that this country and its economy will improve, if we – the business community and regulating agencies do our parts well,” Mr. Zaidenberg recounted,

He added that this requires that members of the business community’s’ respects local laws, conform to international best practices and conduct business and responsibilities with the highest standard of transparency and integrity.

Accordingly, the Central Bank of Liberia yesterday Monday new measures which the management of the GSM Company says it is committed to upholding in its debenture scheme.

On November 8, CELLCOM Telecommunications Incorporated, a leading GSM telephony and internet services provider announced an Offering of Convertible Debentures to the Liberian public.

In its Offering, the GSM service providers advertised interest payment of a minimum of 10% per annum, a tenor of five years for its convertible Debentures and, at the election of each Debenture holder, either the conversion of the face value of the Debenture certificate into shares of common stock or the repayment of the principal invested plus any accrued interests.

CELLCOM offer comes at a time when the capital market in Liberia has yet to be developed, including having in place the appropriate regulatory and supervisory regime, according to the CBL authorities.

The Central Bank’s Executive Governor, Dr. Mills Jones told a news briefing that the development of a capital market in Liberia has been an interest of the Central Bank of Liberia.

According to the bank governor, the CBL has recently announced the need for avoiding any actions on the part of businesses that have the potential of creating problems that could lead to a loss of confidence of the public in the issuance of shares and/or debt obligations ahead of the establishment of a well functioning capital market.

CELLCOM’s Commitments
“In line with its mandate to ensure the orderly development of financial and capital markets that are responsive to the needs of the national economy, and to safeguard the public trust and interest in relation to financial transactions, the Central Bank of Liberia invited CELLCOM to review and discuss its Offering of the said Convertible Debentures,” Governor Jones indicated.

He told journalists, “Based on these discussions, CELLCOM has committed to make changes intended to enhance the disclosure of information about the company and the nature of the debenture being offered with a view to safeguarding the interest and trust of the public and ensuring orderliness in the process of issuing such financial instruments.

Accordingly, he said CELLCOM has committed to make several changes in the execution of its scheme, with immediate effect, which include the title of the Investment Guide of CELLCOM Offering of Convertible Debenture will be changed from “Private Placement of up to 500,000 Convertible Debentures at US$10 Per Unit Payable in Full Upon Application” to read “Placement of up to 500,000 Convertible Debentures at US$10 Per Unit Payable in Full Upon Application”. The removal of the word “Private” obligates CELLCOM to augment the level of disclosure to the public.

“In this connection,” Dr. Jones continued, the disclaimer of CELLCOM in reserving the “…right to amend or replace the information at any time and undertakes no obligation to provide the recipient with access to any additional information…” has been changed.

The Governor further announcing that CELLCOM has committed to now communicate any changes or replacement of information – with appropriate rationale for changes - by communicating, in a reasonable time, through publications in newspapers of general circulation, radio and/or other media, noted that in the summary of the terms of the Offering, CELLCOM will amend its statement to reflect that “this offer is intended, in part, to enable Liberians to eventually participate in the ownership, control and management of the company”.

According to the CBL Governor, this should make it clearer to the public that the purchase of these Debentures does not automatically translate into one becoming a ‘part-owner’ of CELLCOM.

“It is only at the maturity of the Debenture (5 yrs from now) that an investor may exercise the option of having his or her Debentures converted into shares. This clarification will also be further emphasized in succeeding advertisements and related media campaigns undertaken by CELLCOM,” he added.

Flanked by CELLCOM Board Chairman Mr. Avi Zaidenberg, Dr. Jones maintained that the GSA Company has committed to further clarify that for those investors who want to be paid in full at the maturity date, CELLCOM will pay back the Debentures in full on the maturity date, the issue price plus any unpaid accrued interest. For those investors who wish to become shareholders, Cellcom will convert the principal of its Debentures into shares of common stock.

“Not later than 30 days prior to the maturity date of the Debentures, CELLCOM will inform Debenture holders of the impending maturity date and that investors would be reminded of their right to either redeem the Debentures or convert same to shares in Cellcom,” he said.

Debentures holders must be informed
He noted, ”This information will be communicated to Debenture holders by written notices to the addresses provided on the subscription forms; notices placed in at least two local newspapers; notices published on two internet websites including CELLCOM’s; notices broadcast on at least three radio stations and sent via SMS text messages for a period of two weeks.

Dr. Jones asserted that the prior offering of CELLCOM allowed for the automatic conversion of Debentures into shares, in the event that an investor was unavailable to express his or her desire to either redeem the Debenture or to convert it into shares within 1 month following its maturity.

But he noted that as a further protection to the public, in the event that Cellcom does not receive a response from the Debenture holder within one month as of the maturity date of the Debenture, Cellcom will hold the principal of the Debenture plus any unpaid accrued interest for a further period of one year within which the Debenture holder can still exercise his or her right to either liquidate said Debenture or have it converted into shares, provided however that no further interest shall accrue on the principal amount, as of the maturity date.

“At the expiry of the one year period, Cellcom will remit to the Central Bank of Liberia any unclaimed or unconverted principal amounts, plus unpaid interest earned prior to the maturity date. The CBL will hold the funds in escrow, for up to 15 years, on behalf of debenture holders, their heirs, and assignee,” the CBL boss explained.

Given that Liberia has yet to develop a fully functional capital market that would allow for regular buying and selling of securities, such as debentures, he said CELLCOM has agreed to facilitate the transfer process (including registration) for debenture holders wishing to sell or transfer ownership of their debenture prior to maturity.

CELLCOM, he furthered, will not be involved in the transaction that takes place between the debenture holder and the third party, including any discounts that may be agreed upon between the two parties. “For the service of facilitating the transfer process, CELLCOM will charge an administrative fee in respect to each trade of said Debentures, provided said administrative charge will not exceed 2% of the face value of the Debenture,” he added.

The Central Bank Executive Governor accentuated that Cellcom commits to the provision of this service after August 30, 2010. “In effect, this provision makes it easier for holders of the debentures to be able to convert the debenture to cash through agreed upon transactions with third parties ahead of the five year maturity period,” he told the journalists.

Recent issuances of securities have pointed to an emerging need for an expanded range of options to mobilize domestic and international savings for efficient allocation to productive economic activities. This is why an orderly process for developing Liberia’s capital market is essential.

Meanwhile, the CELLCOM Board Chairman said he is the GSM company is pleased with and grateful to the public for its response to its offering of Convertible Debentures, saying that the CELLCOM has extended its purchase of convertible debentures to April 15, 2010.

Liberia - Guinea Border Tensed

Lawmaker Expresses Dislike, Concerned Liberian Comments

Reports from the Liberian Guinean border have indicated tension characterized by seizures of belongings of Liberian traders by Guinean security forces; reports Bill K. Jarkloh.

The reports indicated that Guinean security at the borders have been mistreating Liberian traders, confiscating personal belongings including money and good, but a Nimba County Representative in Parliament who just returned from Ganta indicated that the treatment by the Guineans security is unacceptable, vowing to officialize her position against it to the Liberian Government.

The Nimba County Representative, Rebecca Norkidor, said the mistreatment of Liberians have defied official position of the Ellen Johnson Sirleaf Administration following a local newspaper report that madam Sirleaf was supplying weapons to Guinean dissidents against the military junta of that country.

The Plain Truth Newspaper published a news story to the effect of alleging that the administration of Madam Sirleaf was arming some Guineans against the military government, but the publisher of the paper, Attorney Saymah Cyrenus Cephus, was investigated by state security forces and is being prosecuted in connection with the story.

A concerned Liberian, in a letter published on the FrontPageAfrica online newspaper wondered whether there is a disconnection between the Plain Truth Story and Liberians traveling to Guinea.

Mr. Maxim Freeman, having listed to reports on the Africa network of the British Broadcasting Corporation concerning the situation at the Guinean border with Liberia noted that since the coup in December 2008 such mistreatment of Liberians was not happening until recently when people started spreading rumors about Liberian support to dissidents for regime change in Conakry.

“These are the sort of things that responsible factor into their calculation before making alarmist claims against their own government,” Mr. Freeman said, noting that the Liberian trader who spoke to the BBC is not the President, Vice President, Speaker or Chief Justice.

According to Mr. Freemen, the speaker on the BBC was rather not the Minister of Defense, Justice or Finance, but one who spoke because of his livelihood, and the purchasing power of ordinary consumers that will be affected by the unconventional actions of the Guinean security people.

“Can we say there is a complete disconnect between what is happening to our people traveling to Guinea and the publication that appeared some weeks ago? I think probably not,” Maxime Freeman concluded.

Efforts to get statements from the appropriate government authorities have not materialized.

In Angel Tokpah Murder Trial Update: We Didn’t Investigate All

… State Witness, A Ghanaian, Told Court Of Crime Scene
Ears were raised in the Angel Tokpah murder trial at the Criminal Court “B” at the Temple of Justice when the head of Ghanaian team of investigators that accompanied the Ghanaian-based pathologist to Liberia 2008 told the Court Wednesday that his team did not investigate the entire perimeter of the crime scene.

Represented by Solicitor General – M. Wilkins Wright, County Attorney J. Darku Mulbah, Human Rights Lawyer T. Dempster Brown and Justice Ministry Attorney ASamuel Jacobs, the State imported the Ghanaian investigators headed by Inspector Alex Asanmoa Franpona who, however, told defense cross examination led by Cllr. Pearl Bull who was in court lead defense lawyers Musa dean that the Ghanaian homicide investigators were given the mandate by the Justice Ministry of Liberia to investigate the cause of death of 13-year-old Angel Tokpah in 2008 when the Liberian Government invited the intervention of Ghanaian experts in murder investigation of the 13-years-old boy.

Inspected Franpona, who claimed high knowledge and professionalism when he was quizzed on his background, responded to defense lawyer Pearl Bull’s question by further saying that his team did not asked neighbors as to their knowledge of what happened in the neighborhood regarding the alleged murder of little Angel Tokpah.

The Ghanaian inspector who is the ninth prosecution also disclosed in open court that although his team visited the John F. Kennedy medical center where little Angel Tokpah was taken and pronounced dead, members of the Ghanaian homicide investigators did not meet Dr. Jallah who was the medical practitioner that was responsible to give them the medical report of the ‘murdered’ adolescent to them.

According to him, Dr. Anthony Quaye, a Liberian practitioner who was at the JFK, confirmed to the Ghanaian homicide team accompanying the Ghanaian-based Cuban pathologist that Dr. Jallah was not at the hospital at the time. He however, said “We had Dr, Jallah’s report, adding that the investigation of the Angel Tokpah homicide affair was his first international experience as a crime investigator in the Ghanaian police.

“Our specific mandate was to investigate cause of death…” Inspector Franpona told the lawyer on the cross, noting we arrived in Liberia on January 13, 2008, met the Minister of Justice, Philip A. Z. Banks who give them the briefings “and tasked us to investigate the cause of death of Angel Tokpah”.

According to Inspector Franpona, the met with the teams of Liberia investigators at a press conference held at the Ministry of Justice and requested them for court docket of the Angel Tokpah murder case so that the Ghanaian homicide team would start from where the Liberian teams stopped, but added that they Ghanaian team was told by its Liberian counterparts that there was no docket, and that they should start from scratch, which they did.

Mode of operation

Giving his testimony in chief on the direct examination, Inspector Franpona however told the court that the Ghanaian homicide investigators that came to Liberia for the case, including him, Homicide Investigator Inspector Charles Appiah and Crime Scene Technician Richard Anaty, investigated the entire household of Mr. Hans Williams “and their assertions were that they found the deceased hanging in a bathroom.”

Investigator Franpona explained that team took statements from occupants, and added that the investigators were told that Angel was discovered hanging by a son of Hans Williams, who was identified by name of Hans Williams, Jr.

Jr. Williams went into the bathroom to fetch bucket when he saw the deceased hanging, according to what the Ghanaian investigator told the court. Jr. Williams then raised alarm which alerted the entire household which include Hans and Mardea, Mrs. Henrietta Payku, Mr. Payku and little Angel Gargar and some security men at their security post, the prosecution ninth witness told the court.

Upon the alarm by Jr. Williams, Inspector Franpona said Mr. Williams, the security and Mr. Payku went into the bathroom just to see little Angel Tokpah hanging, the Ghanaian police agent said they were told during their investigation, saying that Hans and the security called kolleh, apparently a man living around, held the deceased while Mr. Payku rushed for a kitchen knife, which was used to cut the rope.

He said according to the narration, the deceased was gasping, when they rushed her to the hospital – the JFK Medical Center, where she was pronounced dead six minutes after arrival. Based upon the explanations provided by the Hans Williams Household, the Ghanaian police asked members of the household present to demonstrate the crime scene after which the team of Franpona took measurement of the bathroom, saying, “the household did not object.”

On January 16, 2008, Inspector Franpona indicate, the Ghana-based Cuban pathologist the Ghanaian police accompanied to Liberia performed the second autopsy on the mortal remains of little Angel Tokpah in the presence of the Ghanaian team, some personnel of the crime service department of the Liberia National Police, some UNMIL personnel, father of the deceased, a group of women and Dr. Anthony Quaye. After the examination, the Ghanaian officer said the pathologist gave findings as “asphyxia secondary to strangulation.”

The witness who was discharged was preceded by the prosecution’s 8th witness, another Ghanaian security agent who ruled out suicide hanging on the part of Angel.

International witness ruled out suicide

The state’s first international witness in the Angel Tokpah murder case says it was not possible for the 13-year-old to have hanged herself where it was alleged she hanged herself.

Chief Investigator Charles Appiah said family assertions that little Angel died by hanging was not realistic. The Ghanaian Detective’s testimony supports earlier testimonies by some senior LNP officers that the victim was taller than where it was alleged she hanged herself.

The Ghanaian homicide investigator says the diagram of the crime scene on the court’s file give full backing to the testimonies of the local and international investigators. Chief Inspector Appiah also confirmed that Dr. Anthony Quaye was part of the second autopsy the Cuban pathologist conducted.
Dr. Quaye testified Monday and told the court his autopsy report was not satisfactory. Another international investigator is expected to testify Wednesday at Criminal Court B.

The author of the controversial autopsy, performed on body of little Angel Tokpah has testified in the murder case. Prosecution produced Dr. Anthony Quaye instead of one of its international witnesses as was earlier announced. Dr. Quaye told the court, he was not satisfied with the first autopsy report which sparked public outcry two years ago. The doctor said the mode of death was not included in the first report because of his reservation.

According to Dr. Quaye, he did not get the full cooperation of the first police investigation team. Dr. Quaye claimed former CID boss Stephen Zargo told him the case was suicidal even before the autopsy was done.

He said every time he requested the police findings to compile the autopsy report, Attorney Zargo told him the case was suicidal.

Commentators say this latest information sound good. I believe Dr. has realized his mistake and now willing to admit the facts. That is the right thing. As professionals we should never comprise our intergrity regardless of prevailing circumstances.

The Quality of our works should in no way be a function of influence of what ever kind. We should remain professional under all circumstances.

The suspected killers of little Angel Tokpah have again pleaded not guilty to the indictment against them. Hans and Mardea Williams pleaded not guilty to the murder charge Monday at Criminal Court B.

Mr. and Mrs. Williams also waived jury trial before hundreds of people who went to see the trial. Government accused the couple of hanging the body of the 13-year-old in a bathroom of their house after killing her.

According to the indictment, Mrs. Williams met Mr. Williams sexually abusing Angel and out of anger strangled the girl to death. The couple and their family members denied the allegations and said the girl hanged herself.

At least three autopsies have been done to settle the controversies surrounding Angel Tokpah’s death.
Government did two and the defense did one.

H’Right lawyer thrown out


Meanwhile, legal proceedings at Criminal Court "B" recently came to a stand still when defendant Hans Williams informed his lawyers who were busy perusing some documents that human right lawyer, Cllr. Dempster Brown was in the restroom with witness Joseph Flomo who asked the Judge to use the restroom.

The information which claimed the attention of the defense counsel prompted the two defense lawyers, Cllrs. Pearl Brown Bull and Francis Galawolo to rush into the restroom to find out what was transpiring between the witness and Cllr. Dempster Brown.

The defense counsel then forwarded the issue to the attention of Judge Dixon who was presiding. Commenting on the act, Judge Dixon said the presence of Cllr. Brown in chamber has not been made known to him. Though he has been sitting with the prosecution since the case resumed on Monday, it was not clear whether he was part of the prosecution team. Judge Dixon said.

Judge Dixon without delay ordered the immediate eviction of Cllr. Dempster Brown from the chamber of the court since the state failed to give account of him.
Following the eviction of the human right lawyer from the premises of the court chamber, the witness was asked to continue his testimony.

In his testimony, witness Joseph Flomo of Criminal Investigation Division of the Liberia National Police told the court that it was not possible for Angel Tokpah to have committed suicide according to police investigation.

The witness also mentioned in his testimony that the measurement taken at the place the girl allegedly hung herself proved different from the guidance claimed. He said the late Angel Tokpah measured 4ft 9 inches and the rope she allegedly used was 3ft 8inches making it longer than the distance between the floor and the place where the rope she used to hang herself was tied before putting same around her neck. He furthered that if the rope is tied on her neck that means she will rather sit on the floor than hanging.

Witness Flomo's testimony was followed by a direct and cross examination by state and defense lawyers respectively.

The two defendants, Hans and Mardea Williams were very attentive taking and passing notes to their lawyers as the witness testify.

November 30, 2007 was a dark day for 13-year old Meideh Angel Tokpah who was found hanging at 7:30 pm in a bathroom of her guardians on the Old Road, Sinkor, in Monrovia.
Just before her lifeless body was submitted to postmortem examination, the police issued a statement that she committed suicide, which corroborated her guardian, Hans Williams.

Women, student and youth groups and human rights organizations challenged the police report. But the postmortem report #009 conducted by Anthony S. Quaye raised more questions than answers. However, an autopsy performed by foreign experts has found out that Angel was not only sexually abused, she was strangled to death.

Historical Perspective

Students of Christ the King School Old road had just begun their weekend on November 30, 2007 when the news broke that one them, 13-year old adolescent Meideh Angel Togba was dead.

Little Angel, weighing 38 kg and 150 cm tall, was found hanging from a belt in the bathroom of her Guardian Mr. Hans Williams. The alarm was blown, neighbors converged at the Williams' residence, and the police was alerted.

Police reported that little Angel died on the same Friday, Nov. 30, 2007 at 7:30 as a result of hanging. The body was then submitted to the Medical Examiner of the Liberian National Police, Anthony S. Quayee.

Mr. Quayee conducted the postmortem examination while the body of the deceased was yet un-embalmed, frozen, partially dressed in a multiple color blouse and multiple colors torn panties.
No mention was made in the autopsy report as to what partially tore Angel's panties, but the report admitted the deceased suffered a violent death.

Describing the vaginal orifice, Dr. Quayee said Angel's heymen was broken with irregular edges. A medical practitioner who spoke with The Analyst when the "heymen" is broken a female is said to be de-virginized.

The Quayee autopsy also said the "mucobloody vaginal" discharge was present on the body of Angel Togba.

In his conclusion, Quayee said there was evidence of a torn panties, but claimed that during the investigation, "the evidence of sexual abuse couldnot be established because of duration elapsed before the postmortem examination was performed".

Quayee said in his report that Angel's Suprebubic hair (hair around her private part), vaginal secretion, vaginal tissue were taken for DNA analysis, if sponsored.

Reading the report during a press conference, Solicitor General Tiawan Gongloe said there was no foul-play in the death of little Angel, but that met public dissension.

New Autopsy report


Liberia's Justice Minister, Cllr. Philip A.Z. Banks yesterday released the autopsy report of the late little Angel Tokpah conducted by a Ghanaian Pathologist with 32 years of experience and Prof. Dr. Josefa Jimenez Hernandez.

A second autopsy was ordered by the government of Liberia following public out cry that the Quayee postmortem report was faulty. The Ghanaian Pathologist, Prof. Dr. Hernandez was seconded to conduct a new autopsy.

According to the findings of the new autopsy on the embalmed body of Angel, the 13-year old girl was reportedly sexually abused and strangled to death.

In his concluding comments, Dr. Hernandez said: "The review of the postmortem report and the examination of the photographs in the process of the re-examination demonstrated evidence of violence."

The Ghanaian Pathologist also said: "This case describes morphological changes in the neck, respiratory system and the external genital. Alleging, she was sexually violated and strangled before the hanging."

Latest news on the trial have it that Cllr. Banks said some parts were taken off the body of little Angel but said those parts were later discovered at the Samuel Striker Funeral home.

The previous autopsy report said those parts were extracted for DNA test which was not done before the new autopsy was conducted. He said the study of the initial autopsy photographs indicated diffused scratches on the Suprapubic (private) area, and burns on the supero-anterior side of booth thighs.

Meanwhile, police sources have disclosed that Mr. & Mrs. Hans Williams have been arrested and detained at the National Police Headquarters on Capitol Hill and are been interrogated.

In the mean time, Justice Minister Philip Banks said the body of little Angel will be tuned over to her parents after investigation of the missing parts is concluded.

He then promised the government will speedily prosecute those connected to the death of Meideh Angel Togba.
18th January, 2008 Report of review of postmortem conducted on deceased Meideh Togba was upon a request received from the Acting Head of Ghana Mission in the Republic of Liberia for assistance in respect of a review of an autopsy, I arrived in Monrovia on the 14th January 2008 to undertake the re-examination.
On Wednesday 16th January 2008, the body was made available to me at the Samuel Stryker Funeral home, in attendance to witness were the following: During the autopsy, representation include Crime Service Department of Liberia, the United Nations, the Criminal Investigations Department of Ghana,
women in peace building network of Liberia, the father of the deceased, Mr. Togba during which external examination was conducted and found that the body was that of an embalmed female adolescent.

Marks of Violence:

The body had a ligature mark from internal lateral right side to the internal lateral left side of the neck surrounded by diffused petechial hemorrhages that extended to the right cheek. In the photographs of the Initial examination. The study of the initial autopsy photographs indicated a diffused scratches or abrasions on the suprapubic area and burns on the supero-anterior side of both things. The examination of the embalmed body revealed the disappearance of the epidermis and hair of the suprapubic area.

Again, the vestibular and the minor labial tissues and the vaginal wall components of the external genital were not found. The internal face of the left thing showed scratches. The chemical used for the embalmment, thus formalin 10%, can only preserve the tissues and change the color. According to Dr. Anthony S. Quayee who performed the initial autopsy, the epidemis and pubic hair were taken for DNA analyses.

Internal Examination

The internal examination of the body revealed the disappearance of parts of the respiratory system including laryngeal structure, trachea and bronchial (airways). Studies of the initial autopsy photographs showed the dissection of the neck and a review of the structure indicated a diffused hemorrhage in the subcutaneous tissue.

According to the examination, the tarynx and the trachea were dislocated and surrounded by traumatic hemorrhagic injuries Lungs show diffuse areas of atelectases and hemorrhage. The heart covered by pericardium sac, and a dissection showed diffused petechial hemorrhage for Asphyxia.

The Liver, it was said then, was pale and showed no abnormality. The spleen was congestive. The kidneys were pale. On cutting section the cortical area was pale and pyramid with severe congestion due to the loss blood for the laceration of the vessels (carotid arteries and yugular vein localized in the laterals side of the neck). Brain shows congestion and moderate edema. Rest of the organs no evidence of alteration seen.

Murder Trial Update: We Didn’t Investigate All

… State Witness, A Ghanaian, Told Court Of Crime Scene
Ears were raised in the Angel Tokpah murder trial at the Criminal Court “B” at the Temple of Justice when the head of Ghanaian team of investigators that accompanied the Ghanaian-based pathologist to Liberia 2008 told the Court Wednesday that his team did not investigate the entire perimeter of the crime scene.
Represented by Solicitor General – M. Wilkins Wright, County Attorney J. Darku Mulbah, Human Rights Lawyer T. Dempster Brown and Justice Ministry Attorney ASamuel Jacobs, the State imported the Ghanaian investigators headed by Inspector Alex Asanmoa Franpona who, however, told defense cross examination led by Cllr. Pearl Bull who was in court lead defense lawyers Musa dean that the Ghanaian homicide investigators were given the mandate by the Justice Ministry of Liberia to investigate the cause of death of 13-year-old Angel Tokpah in 2008 when the Liberian Government invited the intervention of Ghanaian experts in murder investigation of the 13-years-old boy.
Inspected Franpona, who claimed high knowledge and professionalism when he was quizzed on his background, responded to defense lawyer Pearl Bull’s question by further saying that his team did not asked neighbors as to their knowledge of what happened in the neighborhood regarding the alleged murder of little Angel Tokpah.
The Ghanaian inspector who is the ninth prosecution also disclosed in open court that although his team visited the John F. Kennedy medical center where little Angel Tokpah was taken and pronounced dead, members of the Ghanaian homicide investigators did not meet Dr. Jallah who was the medical practitioner that was responsible to give them the medical report of the ‘murdered’ adolescent to them.
According to him, Dr. Anthony Quaye, a Liberian practitioner who was at the JFK, confirmed to the Ghanaian homicide team accompanying the Ghanaian-based Cuban pathologist that Dr. Jallah was not at the hospital at the time. He however, said “We had Dr, Jallah’s report, adding that the investigation of the Angel Tokpah homicide affair was his first international experience as a crime investigator in the Ghanaian police.
“Our specific mandate was to investigate cause of death…” Inspector Franpona told the lawyer on the cross, noting we arrived in Liberia on January 13, 2008, met the Minister of Justice, Philip A. Z. Banks who give them the briefings “and tasked us to investigate the cause of death of Angel Tokpah”.
According to Inspector Franpona, the met with the teams of Liberia investigators at a press conference held at the Ministry of Justice and requested them for court docket of the Angel Tokpah murder case so that the Ghanaian homicide team would start from where the Liberian teams stopped, but added that they Ghanaian team was told by its Liberian counterparts that there was no docket, and that they should start from scratch, which they did.

Mode of operation

Giving his testimony in chief on the direct examination, Inspector Franpona however told the court that the Ghanaian homicide investigators that came to Liberia for the case, including him, Homicide Investigator Inspector Charles Appiah and Crime Scene Technician Richard Anaty, investigated the entire household of Mr. Hans Williams “and their assertions were that they found the deceased hanging in a bathroom.”
Investigator Franpona explained that team took statements from occupants, and added that the investigators were told that Angel was discovered hanging by a son of Hans Williams, who was identified by name of Hans Williams, Jr.
Jr. Williams went into the bathroom to fetch bucket when he saw the deceased hanging, according to what the Ghanaian investigator told the court. Jr. Williams then raised alarm which alerted the entire household which include Hans and Mardea, Mrs. Henrietta Payku, Mr. Payku and little Angel Gargar and some security men at their security post, the prosecution ninth witness told the court.
Upon the alarm by Jr. Williams, Inspector Franpona said Mr. Williams, the security and Mr. Payku went into the bathroom just to see little Angel Tokpah hanging, the Ghanaian police agent said they were told during their investigation, saying that Hans and the security called kolleh, apparently a man living around, held the deceased while Mr. Payku rushed for a kitchen knife, which was used to cut the rope.
He said according to the narration, the deceased was gasping, when they rushed her to the hospital – the JFK Medical Center, where she was pronounced dead six minutes after arrival. Based upon the explanations provided by the Hans Williams Household, the Ghanaian police asked members of the household present to demonstrate the crime scene after which the team of Franpona took measurement of the bathroom, saying, “the household did not object.”
On January 16, 2008, Inspector Franpona indicate, the Ghana-based Cuban pathologist the Ghanaian police accompanied to Liberia performed the second autopsy on the mortal remains of little Angel Tokpah in the presence of the Ghanaian team, some personnel of the crime service department of the Liberia National Police, some UNMIL personnel, father of the deceased, a group of women and Dr. Anthony Quaye. After the examination, the Ghanaian officer said the pathologist gave findings as “asphyxia secondary to strangulation.”
The witness who was discharged was preceded by the prosecution’s 8th witness, another Ghanaian security agent who ruled out suicide hanging on the part of Angel.

International witness ruled out suicide

The state’s first international witness in the Angel Tokpah murder case says it was not possible for the 13-year-old to have hanged herself where it was alleged she hanged herself.
Chief Investigator Charles Appiah said family assertions that little Angel died by hanging was not realistic. The Ghanaian Detective’s testimony supports earlier testimonies by some senior LNP officers that the victim was taller than where it was alleged she hanged herself.
The Ghanaian homicide investigator says the diagram of the crime scene on the court’s file give full backing to the testimonies of the local and international investigators. Chief Inspector Appiah also confirmed that Dr. Anthony Quaye was part of the second autopsy the Cuban pathologist conducted.
Dr. Quaye testified Monday and told the court his autopsy report was not satisfactory. Another international investigator is expected to testify Wednesday at Criminal Court B.
The author of the controversial autopsy, performed on body of little Angel Tokpah has testified in the murder case. Prosecution produced Dr. Anthony Quaye instead of one of its international witnesses as was earlier announced. Dr. Quaye told the court, he was not satisfied with the first autopsy report which sparked public outcry two years ago. The doctor said the mode of death was not included in the first report because of his reservation.
According to Dr. Quaye, he did not get the full cooperation of the first police investigation team. Dr. Quaye claimed former CID boss Stephen Zargo told him the case was suicidal even before the autopsy was done.
He said every time he requested the police findings to compile the autopsy report, Attorney Zargo told him the case was suicidal.
Commentators say this latest information sound good. I believe Dr. has realized his mistake and now willing to admit the facts. That is the right thing. As professionals we should never comprise our intergrity regardless of prevailing circumstances.
The Quality of our works should in no way be a function of influence of what ever kind. We should remain professional under all circumstances.
The suspected killers of little Angel Tokpah have again pleaded not guilty to the indictment against them. Hans and Mardea Williams pleaded not guilty to the murder charge Monday at Criminal Court B.
Mr. and Mrs. Williams also waived jury trial before hundreds of people who went to see the trial. Government accused the couple of hanging the body of the 13-year-old in a bathroom of their house after killing her.
According to the indictment, Mrs. Williams met Mr. Williams sexually abusing Angel and out of anger strangled the girl to death. The couple and their family members denied the allegations and said the girl hanged herself.
At least three autopsies have been done to settle the controversies surrounding Angel Tokpah’s death.
Government did two and the defense did one.

H’Right lawyer thrown out

Meanwhile, legal proceedings at Criminal Court "B" recently came to a stand still when defendant Hans Williams informed his lawyers who were busy perusing some documents that human right lawyer, Cllr. Dempster Brown was in the restroom with witness Joseph Flomo who asked the Judge to use the restroom.
The information which claimed the attention of the defense counsel prompted the two defense lawyers, Cllrs. Pearl Brown Bull and Francis Galawolo to rush into the restroom to find out what was transpiring between the witness and Cllr. Dempster Brown.
The defense counsel then forwarded the issue to the attention of Judge Dixon who was presiding. Commenting on the act, Judge Dixon said the presence of Cllr. Brown in chamber has not been made known to him. Though he has been sitting with the prosecution since the case resumed on Monday, it was not clear whether he was part of the prosecution team. Judge Dixon said.
Judge Dixon without delay ordered the immediate eviction of Cllr. Dempster Brown from the chamber of the court since the state failed to give account of him.
Following the eviction of the human right lawyer from the premises of the court chamber, the witness was asked to continue his testimony.
In his testimony, witness Joseph Flomo of Criminal Investigation Division of the Liberia National Police told the court that it was not possible for Angel Tokpah to have committed suicide according to police investigation.
The witness also mentioned in his testimony that the measurement taken at the place the girl allegedly hung herself proved different from the guidance claimed. He said the late Angel Tokpah measured 4ft 9 inches and the rope she allegedly used was 3ft 8inches making it longer than the distance between the floor and the place where the rope she used to hang herself was tied before putting same around her neck. He furthered that if the rope is tied on her neck that means she will rather sit on the floor than hanging.
Witness Flomo's testimony was followed by a direct and cross examination by state and defense lawyers respectively.
The two defendants, Hans and Mardea Williams were very attentive taking and passing notes to their lawyers as the witness testify.
November 30, 2007 was a dark day for 13-year old Meideh Angel Tokpah who was found hanging at 7:30 pm in a bathroom of her guardians on the Old Road, Sinkor, in Monrovia.
Just before her lifeless body was submitted to postmortem examination, the police issued a statement that she committed suicide, which corroborated her guardian, Hans Williams.
Women, student and youth groups and human rights organizations challenged the police report. But the postmortem report #009 conducted by Anthony S. Quaye raised more questions than answers. However, an autopsy performed by foreign experts has found out that Angel was not only sexually abused, she was strangled to death.

Historical Perspective

Students of Christ the King School Old road had just begun their weekend on November 30, 2007 when the news broke that one them, 13-year old adolescent Meideh Angel Togba was dead.
Little Angel, weighing 38 kg and 150 cm tall, was found hanging from a belt in the bathroom of her Guardian Mr. Hans Williams. The alarm was blown, neighbors converged at the Williams' residence, and the police was alerted.
Police reported that little Angel died on the same Friday, Nov. 30, 2007 at 7:30 as a result of hanging. The body was then submitted to the Medical Examiner of the Liberian National Police, Anthony S. Quayee.
Mr. Quayee conducted the postmortem examination while the body of the deceased was yet un-embalmed, frozen, partially dressed in a multiple color blouse and multiple colors torn panties.
No mention was made in the autopsy report as to what partially tore Angel's panties, but the report admitted the deceased suffered a violent death.
Describing the vaginal orifice, Dr. Quayee said Angel's heymen was broken with irregular edges. A medical practitioner who spoke with The Analyst when the "heymen" is broken a female is said to be de-virginized.
The Quayee autopsy also said the "mucobloody vaginal" discharge was present on the body of Angel Togba.
In his conclusion, Quayee said there was evidence of a torn panties, but claimed that during the investigation, "the evidence of sexual abuse couldnot be established because of duration elapsed before the postmortem examination was performed".
Quayee said in his report that Angel's Suprebubic hair (hair around her private part), vaginal secretion, vaginal tissue were taken for DNA analysis, if sponsored.
Reading the report during a press conference, Solicitor General Tiawan Gongloe said there was no foul-play in the death of little Angel, but that met public dissension.

New Autopsy report

Liberia's Justice Minister, Cllr. Philip A.Z. Banks yesterday released the autopsy report of the late little Angel Tokpah conducted by a Ghanaian Pathologist with 32 years of experience and Prof. Dr. Josefa Jimenez Hernandez.
A second autopsy was ordered by the government of Liberia following public out cry that the Quayee postmortem report was faulty. The Ghanaian Pathologist, Prof. Dr. Hernandez was seconded to conduct a new autopsy.
According to the findings of the new autopsy on the embalmed body of Angel, the 13-year old girl was reportedly sexually abused and strangled to death.
In his concluding comments, Dr. Hernandez said: "The review of the postmortem report and the examination of the photographs in the process of the re-examination demonstrated evidence of violence."
The Ghanaian Pathologist also said: "This case describes morphological changes in the neck, respiratory system and the external genital. Alleging, she was sexually violated and strangled before the hanging."
Latest news on the trial have it that Cllr. Banks said some parts were taken off the body of little Angel but said those parts were later discovered at the Samuel Striker Funeral home.
The previous autopsy report said those parts were extracted for DNA test which was not done before the new autopsy was conducted. He said the study of the initial autopsy photographs indicated diffused scratches on the Suprapubic (private) area, and burns on the supero-anterior side of booth thighs.
Meanwhile, police sources have disclosed that Mr. & Mrs. Hans Williams have been arrested and detained at the National Police Headquarters on Capitol Hill and are been interrogated.
In the mean time, Justice Minister Philip Banks said the body of little Angel will be tuned over to her parents after investigation of the missing parts is concluded.
He then promised the government will speedily prosecute those connected to the death of Meideh Angel Togba.
18th January, 2008 Report of review of postmortem conducted on deceased Meideh Togba was upon a request received from the Acting Head of Ghana Mission in the Republic of Liberia for assistance in respect of a review of an autopsy, I arrived in Monrovia on the 14th January 2008 to undertake the re-examination.
On Wednesday 16th January 2008, the body was made available to me at the Samuel Stryker Funeral home, in attendance to witness were the following: During the autopsy, representation include Crime Service Department of Liberia, the United Nations, the Criminal Investigations Department of Ghana,
women in peace building network of Liberia, the father of the deceased, Mr. Togba during which external examination was conducted and found that the body was that of an embalmed female adolescent.

Marks of Violence:

The body had a ligature mark from internal lateral right side to the internal lateral left side of the neck surrounded by diffused petechial hemorrhages that extended to the right cheek. In the photographs of the Initial examination. The study of the initial autopsy photographs indicated a diffused scratches or abrasions on the suprapubic area and burns on the supero-anterior side of both things. The examination of the embalmed body revealed the disappearance of the epidermis and hair of the suprapubic area.
Again, the vestibular and the minor labial tissues and the vaginal wall components of the external genital were not found. The internal face of the left thing showed scratches. The chemical used for the embalmment, thus formalin 10%, can only preserve the tissues and change the color. According to Dr. Anthony S. Quayee who performed the initial autopsy, the epidemis and pubic hair were taken for DNA analyses.

Internal Examination

The internal examination of the body revealed the disappearance of parts of the respiratory system including laryngeal structure, trachea and bronchial (airways). Studies of the initial autopsy photographs showed the dissection of the neck and a review of the structure indicated a diffused hemorrhage in the subcutaneous tissue.
According to the examination, the tarynx and the trachea were dislocated and surrounded by traumatic hemorrhagic injuries Lungs show diffuse areas of atelectases and hemorrhage. The heart covered by pericardium sac, and a dissection showed diffused petechial hemorrhage for Asphyxia.
The Liver, it was said then, was pale and showed no abnormality. The spleen was congestive. The kidneys were pale. On cutting section the cortical area was pale and pyramid with severe congestion due to the loss blood for the laceration of the vessels (carotid arteries and yugular vein localized in the laterals side of the neck). Brain shows congestion and moderate edema. Rest of the organs no evidence of alteration seen.

Three Dead After Gun Attack On Togo Football Team

Optimism Turned To Horror
The Angolan government chose to use the northern enclave of Cabinda as a venue for the African Cup of Nations to improve the province's war-torn image and drive investment, but its plan has turned out to be a tragic own goal, with reports of three dead, Togo set to pull out of the tournament and Angola in the headlines for all the wrong reasons.
The death toll from an attack on Togo's football team as they travelled in Angola has risen from one to three, reports say. The team bus driver was killed in Friday's attack, with the deaths of the assistant coach and a spokesman announced a day later.
Two players were among nine people injured in the attack as the team headed to the Africa Cup of Nations. The teams were recalled from the competition by the Togo government.
The Angolan government officials and tournament organizers had held unsuccessful talks with the team to persuade them to stay after reports they were withdrawing.
The attack happened in Angola's northern province of Cabinda on Friday. Goalkeeper Kossi Agassa, who plays for French club Istres, told France-Info radio that two people had died.
They were the assistant coach Amalete Abalo and media spokesperson Stanislas Ocloo. Among the nine people injured were two players, an assistant manager, physio, goalkeeping coach and another coach.
Reserve goalkeeper Kodjovi Obilale was flown to South Africa for surgery for injuries to his back, club president Philippe Le Mestre told AP news agency.
The attackers machine-gunned the vehicle after it crossed from the Republic of Congo into Angola's oil-rich territory of Cabinda.
Rebels who have been fighting for the region's independence later said they had carried out the attack. The Angolan government called the incident an "act of terrorism".
Togo had been due to play their first cup game in Cabinda on Monday. The Angolan Prime Minister, Paulo Kassoma, described the attack as an "isolated act", and guaranteed the security of teams, AFP news agency reported.
The BBC sports correspondent says that Togo's withdrawal will be a crushing blow for the Angolan hosts, who hoped the tournament would show how far their country had progressed since the end of the civil war.
The tournament's organizers, the Confederation of African Football (CAF), said the team should have travelled by air rather than road.
The Togolese team - which includes Manchester City striker Emmanuel Adebayor and Aston Villa midfielder Moustapha Salifou - were shot at by a group of gunmen as they travelled by bus from the Republic of Congo into Cabinda, which is separated from Angola by a strip of the Democratic Republic of Congo.
The small jungle province is home to much of Angola's offshore petroleum activity and has been at the centre of a long-running independence fight led by various splinter groups of Flec (the Front for the Liberation of the Enclave of Cabinda).
Despite a so-called peace deal in 2006, low-level insurgency has continued and there have been sporadic reports of attacks on members of the Angolan Armed Forces (FAA) and some on Chinese and Brazilian nationals working in the province.
Flec had made some veiled threats that it might attack during the Cup of Nations - when it knew the world's media would be watching - but the Angolan government gave assurances security was in place and there would be no trouble.
Speaking ahead of the tournament, Antonio Bento Bembe, a former Flec leader who was made a government minister as part of the 2006 Memorandum of Understanding, said: "Cabinda is safe and security there is guaranteed.
"The Cup of Nations is an opportunity for Cabinda to receive visitors and it will bring money and investment to the province," he added. Later, responding to the shooting, the minister said he had made the statements in good faith and added: "I am really sad to think that our African brothers came to Angola to take part in the Cup of Nations and this has happened."
An investigation has been launched into what happened, but questions are also being asked about why Togo chose to drive through a notoriously dangerous part of the province, a known location for insurgents, instead of flying to Cabinda city directly, according to the Confederation of African Football regulations.
"The mistake is that the team travelled by road, they had obviously done no serious risk assessment of the area," said Alex Vines, of London-based think tank Chatham House.
"This is the Mayombe rainforest and where radical Flec separatists have operated for decades. "They number just several hundred but they can be disruptive, despite the large number of Angolan military and security deployed in the province, and international companies in the zones have been targeted with abductions and killings."
Few such attacks reach the headlines because of an ongoing clampdown on media activities in the province of Cabinda and the government's refusal to acknowledge Flec's actions.
With Togo having pulled out of the tournament, the organizing committee is pledging tighter security but trying to play down the incident. On Saturday, it issued a statement repeating that the competition would go ahead as planned.
Angola has reportedly spent $1bn preparing for the biannual tournament to be played in the four host cities of Luanda, Lubango, Benguela and Cabinda, as well as four brand new Chinese-built stadiums. There are new airports, roads, hotels and upgraded hospital facilities.
Hype has been building in the country for weeks and the streets of Luanda have been a sea of red, black and gold Angolan flags and people in team shirts and caps.
One woman selling mangoes outside Luanda's 50,000-seat stadium said: "We are happy about the Cup of Nations because it will bring tourists to Angola, and they will see that the war is over and that the people are peaceful."
After the incident involving the Togo team, this type of optimism may now be hard to find.