New Hope, Peace Island Community “Fraudulent” Election Backfires

Monrovia, Liberia: Serious tension is said to be brewing in the Peace Island Community of New Hope, Jacob Town, along the Japan Freeway of Representative Sekou Kanneh Electoral District Two, owing to the alleged fraudulent nature in which the February 11, 2025 community leadership election was conducted. 

Knews investigation gathered that it has been nearly six years since the leadership impasse in the densely populated slum community has existed owing to the alleged unwillingness of community elders to allow young people to take up leadership roles in the community through elections.

It can be recalled that in 2022, the Peace Island election process was stalled allegedly because Reverend Augustine S. Akoi, who was then Acting Chairman of the Concerned Resident Elders of Peace Island (CREP), attempted to impose an ally of his as Chairman, an attempt that was vehemently rejected by the youth, who account for approximately 65% of the population.

Our investigation also unearthed that former Representative Jimmy W. Smith had a handpicked candidate in the race for the chairman position, and since he (Smith) and Akoi could not get along further exacerbated the tension, which stalled the process.

Knews was also hinted that monies that were collected from candidate registration for the 2022 election till date have not been accounted for, as since then, the Peace Island community has been engulfed in a serious leadership deficit crisis.

This leadership crisis, according to our investigation, has made the community suffer severe consequences by not benefiting several developmental and humanitarian initiatives.

For instance, in the middle of 2024, the Peace Island community was victimized by a terrible flood situation due to the severity of the rainy season. This situation left over three thousand community dwellers internally displaced.

It is reported that due to the Peace Island leadership deficit crisis, many of the actual flood victims did not benefit from the intervention of several humanitarian goodwill gestures, as it is alleged that Erayor Trayor, supported by Reverend Akoi, allegedly directed the benefits to family members and friends, some of whom were not residents of the community.

Fast forward: upon the 2023 election of Representative Sekou Kanneh, it is reported that the lawmaker expressed unwillingness to work with those impersonating as leadership of the community and subsequently initiated a process for a fresh electoral process.

But what many Peace Islanders saw as a glim of hope for a community that has endured the better reality of not having an elected leadership structure in place has turned out to be the worst, as allegations of a stage-managed fraudulent election loom.

Speaking to Knews on the conduct of the election, Ambassador Harris Cleon Geninyan, candidate for the Youth Chairmanship position, alleged that the just-ended community election was excessively fraudulent with several electoral malpractices.

Cleon renders the outcome of the elections as “persona non grata” while declaring the Co-Chairperson of the Independent Election Commission, Madam Famatta M. Freeman, an “enemy of our community.”.

He accused Madam Freeman of “playing an engineering role during the stage-managed election that has the propensity for bloodshed and threats to our beloved community.”.

Harris indicted Madam Freeman on seven counts that support his claim that the process felt way below the standard of a free, fair, and transparent election. 

The aggrieved Youth Chairman candidate absorbed the Chairman of the Independent Election Commission, Musa A. Kamara, of any involvement in the fraudulent election on grounds that, due to his (Kamara's) demanding work schedule, Co-Chairperson Famatta M. Freeman spearheaded the entire process.

Ambassador Geninyan accused the Commission of deliberately refusing to publish the final voter’s registration roll, which caused several people to have voted using different names with no proper verification or identity.

He added that the majority of the ballot papers weren’t stamped, and there was no reconciliation during the counting, a situation that pre-supports fraud in any election across the world.

Ambassador Geninyan further argued that the perpetual involvement of key members of the Election Commission, including Co-Chairperson Famatta M. Freeman, on Election Day in the campaign process of participating candidate Madam Sametta D.G. George, a longtime friend of Madam Freeman, clearly portrays the criminal nature of the process.

Another key issue raised was ignoring Section VII B of the revised election guideline, which states, “A person vying for the position of Youth Chairman and Co-chairman shall be 18-35 years," but according to Ambassador Geninyan, the Commissioners undermined the guideline, and qualified adult Sampson B. Wheidaigar who surpasses the age limits to contest the election.

According to him, a thorough background check on Sampson B. Wheidaigar proved he is currently 37 years old. He alleged that a letter of complaint with all relevant documents to support his claim against Wheidaigar filed with the Commission yielded no result, and Wheidaigar was allowed to contest the election and announced fraudulently as the winner of the Youth Chairmanship position.

Ambassador Geninyan also alleged that “At the close of voter registration, dozens of names were recorded without giving them valid voting cards up to a few days before the election. Notwithstanding, over six hundred (600) voting cards were issued by Mrs. Freeman on Election Day without any voter registration numbers but only bearing her signature, Famatta M. Freeman (FMF)”.

“As it can be recorded, in 2012, Mrs. Famatta M. Freeman, an outstanding Lieutenant of Peace Island Community then Election Commission, attempted but failed to manipulate the process in favor of her old-time friend Mrs. Sametta D.G. George, who then contested as Co-Chairperson to Hon. Joseph K. Massaquoi, in the 2012 elections. Interestingly, the just-ended election was the only opportunity to bring her old-time friend to the community leadership, thereby distributing the same voting cards that were intended for the 2012 electoral process in the 2025 elections,” Ambassador Geninyan stated.

“Mrs. Freeman unreasonably justified that the blue FMF cards got finished while the election was in progress when Mr. Kamara disclosed four (4) names that were arrested that were not part of the voter’s registration record. At that moment, he realized that he was no longer in control of the election. Mrs. Freeman, however, admitted that she gave those 2012 cards without notifying her boss, Mr. Kamara,” the aggrieved candidate pointed out.

He also accused candidates Wheidaigar and Aaron Buah, teammate of Mrs. Freeman's old-time friend Sametta George, who was announced winner of the fraudulent process of distributing voter cards to non-qualified voters on Election Day.

Ambassador Geninyan accused Reverend Augustine S. Akoi, Acting Chairman of Concerned Resident Elders of Peace Island (CREP), of supporting the fraudulent elections for his failure to speak against the criminal nature in which the election was conducted.

He said, "Fellow Peace Islanders, it will interest you to note that the former self-proclaimed integrity Angle-Augustine S. Arkoi was one of the lead progenitors of the Press Union of Liberia’s most fraudulent historical election in 2022, which he recently transmitted into our local community election through an advisory role.”.

“Fellow Peace Islanders, where do we go from here when those who spoke against the previous election Commissioners are no different today?

Based on the aforementioned and in the interest of the young people and the community at large, as we assemble upon these grounds to announce and proclaim to you our fellow compatriots that I have awakened from my shelves of rejections by the commissioners to launch a new community mass-based movement named and styled "Youth in Action for Community Activities,” Ambassador Harris Cleon Geninyan concluded.