29/08/2024
THE LIBERIA NATIONAL STUDENTS' UNION OPERATES WITHOUT LEGITIMATE LEADERSHIP
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August 29, 2024
With many meetings and communications to the Ministry of Youth and Sports through its Minister, Cllr. Jeror Cole Bangalu, it is with deep concerns and disappointment that Nominees and registered Candidates from Smythe University College got rejected by the former CPC and Former Mohammed Gandhi Kamara leadership without any legitimate reasons. Mr. Mohammed Gandhi Kamara who worked with an unsophisticated employee in the eyes section at JFK, Julius G. Dahn collected the University dues of U$200 and Candidate registration of over U$700 without allowing Students' leaders to showcase their democratic rights, thereby disqualifying Mr. Malcolm Sheriff as Secretary General, Mr. V. Garvey Veah as Financial Secretary and Mr. Andrew S. Mulbah as Vice President for International Affairs and made their interest white ballot Candidates in the process. However, the Congress Preparation Committee (CPC) was nominated and confirmed by LINSU's NAC to conduct elections within 90 day, which expired on August 25th of this year without any positive achievement but corruption and irregularities.
The majority of a well-intentioned, responsible, progressing, and respected students membership frowned on the cowardice and ill-advised transition of former president Kamara in the Students' Community, his actions by taking money from people and disallowed them participate undermines true democracy and the free space for competitions.
In furtherance, Former president Kamara and his CPC Chairman actions and activities engulfed a serious and deliberate abuse of power - absolute repudiation and the denial of nominees also led to his awkward transition of power. The corruption and irregularities of LINSUs' 6th POST-WAR Congress provoked and challenged the Ministry of Youth and Sports in being very partial and unfit in their national discharge and undermines the collective wisdom of the students populace, contriving our usual deliberation and constitutional mandate to govern and respect leadership with credibility since the enactment or establishment of the Ministry.
The irresponsible conduct of LINSU'S activities of recent clouds the doubt about corruption, unprofessionalism, selectivism categorized by the constitution violations. LINSU's sanctity as mother students organization in Liberia is marked by illegal convention of which the syllogism notion is heled in such a challenge presented, that there is no other testimonial to satiate the oft-politic terminus of student rights in participating into the mother's organization of Students elections in Liberia. The other notion is that former leaders dreamingly have entitlement to the organization and without the protection of their interests and approved consultant, no one can serve as leader of LINSU, checking on the external validity of this notion, laissez-faire, anarchy, chaos, and misrule, and disqualification of candidates are the way forward. These are what the youthful general at Smythe University College seek to disagree with. But certainly, if these motives are what past LINSUS' Leadership holding on to, it means that the emerging Students' leaders at Smythe University Nomination must be accepted by the Ministry of Youth and Sports because of their independence. Imagine, Aaron M. Beah, former President of Smythe University College Students' Union got suspended from the University for corruption, distrust , misapplication of funds and double Nomination of candidates for the LINSU Congress. After Malcolm, Garvey and Andrew paid the University dues and Malcolm gave him U$ 700 for the renovations of the students' Union office, he later collected money another money and criminally signed Nomination with the faking of the Students' Secretary General signature at All African Students' Union office on Mamba Point to again nominate Gandhi, Varney and Julius' Candidates in the process which brought in the white ballots of their preferred Candidates and disqualification of the official nominees with the Dean of Students and Vice President for Instructions signatures in at the University.
With evidence in our possession, the School through the Dean of Students at Smythe University College reaffirm the Nomination of Malcolm, Garvey and Andrew but the former CPC Chairman Julius G. Dahn denied their Nomination despite taking their Candidates registration money and issued then official LINSU's receipt during the first week of Nominations in June 2024.
With LINSU's Constitution and the vacancy at ULSU, the University of Liberia can't Nominate any Candidates for the Congress and they are however using Smythe University College to secure and protect Washington and others as qualified candidates.
Unreasonably, that exposes the constitutional violations by CPC and Former president Kamara, elections irregularities and corruption. The LPRC Boss gave LINSU U$2.5k and the Ministry of Youth and Sports issues a 12k check for the conduct of the election, up to current, a cent is not in LINSU's Account for the Congress or a Congress was not held due to funding. What happened to the 14k and other money generated from Candidate registration and due payment???
This outlet is asking the Ministry of Youth and Sports to investigate corruption within LINSU and approved the Candidature of all Liberians that registered to contest in the 6th POST-WAR Congress of the Liberia National Students' Union (LINSU); and lastly conduct the LINSU Congress as the body responsible for youth and students activities in Liberia due to the expiration of both CPC and LINSU's Leadership in Liberia and to avoid conflict of interest and emerging crisis amount young people in the country.
The Minister of youth and Sports must set a committee to come out with the final date for elections and exclusively conduct the 6th POST-WAR Congress of LINSU in an open space where CSOs, NGOs and some partners will be invited to monitored the free space of democracy among our students. All Students' leaders must keep distance to allow independent people take charge.
