The Senior Senator of Rivercess County Jonathan Banney is demanding that the Commission removes his name from the list of alleged perpetrators. Senator Banney is one of the many persons recommended for prosecution under the category ‘most notorious’ for gross human rights violations including violations of international humanitarian law, international human rights law, and war crimes and therefore recommends for his prosecution.

Senator Banney said the report has no iota of truth in it and therefore asked the Commission to have his name removed from the list.

“I demand an unconditional expunging or obliteration of my name from the said published final statement of the TRC and an open apology for the wrong committed against me by the Commission in this regard. Otherwise, I would be left with no other alternatives but to seek legal remedy under the circumstances”, Senator Banney said in his letter dated July 6, 2009 to the TRC.

Senator Banney also requested from the Commission the identities of any alleged victims and the opportunity for him to confront them in an open forum in order to “perfect the TRC process” in his particular case.

“I challenge the TRC to give me a day in court!!” he exclaimed as he displayed a copy of a letter addressed to the Commission which he said had already delivered to the Commission and is awaiting a prompt response.

Senator Banney’s above request of being afforded the opportunity to meet and confront whoever his alleged victims are stems from the provision of an article in the Act of The TRC which calls for a perpetrator-victim interaction in an open forum according to Part II, Section 6.8 which states: “Every person artificial or natural, who is named of wrongdoing, at a public hearing, shall be afforded adequate opportunity to respond in a comprehensible and respectable manner within a reasonable time to be fixed by the Commission”.

Further, Section 6.9 states: “Where an accused person responds to allegations, sufficient opportunity shall be afforded him or her to be present in person and to ask questions of the accuser or witness where and when the Commission deems appropriate”.

Pressure Group Demands Sen. Banney to Resign

At the same time, a pressure group named Rivercess Amunwulun Development Association, through its chairman, has asked Senator Banney to resign as senator of Rivercess.

Hilary Mento said the pressure group’s request for Senator Banney’s resignation is based on his (the senator’s) denial of his involvement in committing torture as contained in the Final Report of the TRC. He said the group was taken aback to have heard Senator Banney describing the TRC’s report as untrue.

Mento alleged that the then superintendent led a group of gangs that tortured a group of company workers from a company he only named as PRC in the county who had demanded for their just benefits.

“The surprising thing is that the Superintendent led a gang in 1996 against these people and they were tortured. One Michael Blah who is right now in Tonpoe’s Town in Rivercess County can testify to this. Even Victor Wilson who served as a representative for Rivercess under the Taylor government and travelled to the United States but back in Liberia now can also attest to this”, Mento alleged.

“John Gbeato who was then the council of chief in Rivercess and still in Rivercess is also a victim of Senator Banny under whose mandate people pissed in his mouth”, he continued.

Mento said the association is therefore calling for Senator Banney’s immediate resignation for what he (Mento) described as having a tainted character who cannot lead the people of the county.

But Senator Banney, when contacted said he was only concerned about the TRC’s Final Report and not any other individual. He however denied ever knowing any pressure group called ‘Amunwulun’; neither can he address himself to anyone called Hilary Mentoe.

He further asserted that he has not even received any formal letter from any pressure group requesting for his resignation.

“If anyone has undermined me, I don’t know them. I don’t know any legal organization or pressure group in Rivercess named and styled Amunwulun”.

He suspects that there may be a political intention from whoever that might want to use the issue at stake for his or her personal political gain.