Liberia History & Information

By Juahju Torbor

–In Baltimore, MD at a recent emergency meeting, the Political Action Commmittee (PACO) of Liberia’s United People’s Party (UPP) has expelled one of its former officers for alleged persistent violations of the organization’s principles and laws.

Kesselly

[Washington, DC, July 22, 2001]

In a one-page document issued after the session, PACO’s national executive committee based its explusion decision on findings and recommendations submitted by an inquiry board.

According to the decision, former PACO secretary general Saywalah Kesselly, “pleaded guilty to all charges against him but promised defiantly never to stop violating the group’s guiding principles pending a leader of his choice.

In his complaint to the Political Action Committee last month, ex-national vice chairman Teah Nyenapoe Jardia charged Kesselly for having “usurped executive powers, violated consistently the very rules Kesselly helped construct and polarized partisans incessantly in the party.”

The national executive committee, in a memorandum written to all partisans, pointed out that during the last four years, Kesselly’s “persistent calculated attempt to undermine and inhibit the coexistence of differing political viewpoints within PACO engenders an intolerable atmosphere in which we as partisans cannot achieve any of our goals.

“The United People’s Party is an institution that commits to democratic principles and the rule of law, not of men. But Mr. Kesselly has chosen to remain lawless by infracting Articles 11, 18(f) and 37 in Chapter III; Article 2(c), Chapter VII and Article 4, Chapter VIII in the Constitution of the United People’sParty dated April 22, 1985.

“It is, therefore, PACO Executive Committee’s considered opinion that all partisans should respect its principles and the rule of law. No one is and should be greater than the laws that govern the United People’s Party. If we cannot respect and obey our own laws, how can we afford to criticize any government that may be infringing on the rights of any Liberian? If we cannot start to live up to our own constitution, he could be possibly abide by the fundamental laws of our republic?

“Mr. Kesselly is expelled from the Political Action Committee as of July 21, 2001 because the organization cannot afford to be polarized in these critical times. He, however, remains a partisan in the United People’s Party. Anyone who violates UPP’s laws will also be held accountable for violation.”

The Party’s national headquarters in Monrovia has been informed of PACO’s move to weed out law-breaking partisans who pursue gladiatorial politics and polarization in the committee, which has effectively disintegrated a one-time powerful UPP district in the United States.