Liberia defends move to invite US in deaths probe

Liberia’s Information Minister, Ledgerhood Rennie, has defended the move to seek help from the US government to investigate the recent deaths of four civil servants.

The minister told reporters that the government wanted a transparent investigation involving the best experts.

Mr Rennie said a preliminary report would determine if a criminal or non-criminal investigation is needed.

‘People will come out with conspiracy theories and speculation about things when they happen. So we want to be clear and open so that tomorrow when the conclusions are made they can be convinced that whatever conclusions that are derived as a result of these investigations will be accepted by the public,’ he said.

Mr Rennie said the investigation will involve the families of the deceased civil servants.

Earlier, a report from multiple sources accounted that Liberia’s President George asked the US to help with investigations into the mysterious deaths of three senior officials in finance-related posts, the state-linked Liberia News Agency (LINA) referenced.

LINA quoted Mr Weah as urging people not to speculate, and to await the outcome of investigations.

The officials who died include the head of the Internal Audit Agency, Emmanuel Nyeswua, and three other officials who worked for the Liberia Revenue Authority.