“If A Gov't Official Was Attacked, Gov't Would Have Taken Action to Avert…”
“We are however inclined to believe that had the premises of any current government official or a former official with some level of interest been attacked, the government would have taken action to avert what happened to us,” the family said.
— Family of Former Chief Justice blames Government for fatal attack on her home
The family of the former Chief Justice, Gloria Musu Scott, has blamed the government for contributing to the fatal attack at their home that led to the death of her niece, Charloe Musu, while two others sustained serious wounds.
Like many Liberians, the family noted in a statement that the government neglected its responsibility to provide protection for the legal luminary and her family members prior to the deadly attack, though the government, through the Minister of Justice and the Liberia National Police, was informed of the home being attacked twice.
They termed the attacks as assassination attempts on the life of the former Chief Justice, who also served as Justice Minister and Senator for Maryland County.
“The family informs the public and the international community that the government was made duly aware through the Zone 6 Police Depot in Brewerville and the Attorney General and Minister of Justice of the Republic of Liberia after the first, second, and even third attacks, which saw the gruesome murder of our daughter, Charloe Musu, a prospective graduate of the Starz University College.
There were two consecutive (two nights in a row) attacks initially, on February 8th and 9th, and they were reported to the police. But the family noted that there were no efforts from the government to take control of the situation — an inaction that led to the third and most brutal attack.
But the Liberia National Police, in a statement on February 26, following the news of Charloe's murder, said that after they received reports of the first two attacks, they "started patrolling the area." The LNP did not specify what it meant by "patrolling the area" and did not specifically post an officer at Cllr. Scott's residence.
Was the police patrolling another part of Cllr. Scott's neighborhood when the third attack took place?
“We are however inclined to believe that had the premises of any current government official or a former official with some level of interest been attacked, the government would have taken action to avert what happened to us,” the family said. “But it is for the public to judge this and several other similar cases of murder that have happened in our country in the last few years.”
“Our family’s biggest question is: What have former Chief Justice Scott and the Musu Family done to warrant all this?”
The family called on the government to investigate the attacks and bring the perpetrators to justice, saying, “We will not hesitate, as well, to call for the help of the international community through the diplomatic missions to ensure that this is not swept under the carpet.”
The family noted that it is however baffled by what seems redundant, the deployment of police officers “after we have cried for help in vain and forced in a situation we can never forget.”
The family, in the statement, also debunked statement by the police that the attackers might have been a domestic worker inScott’s compound.
“Less than 24 hours after the assassination attack on us at our Brewerville residence, the government, through the police, issued a statement, insinuating that the assassin (murderer) might have been a domestic worker only because some hired electricians had worked in the house on that fateful day, even though there were two initial attacks, which were reported to the police,” the statement indicated.
The issue of the domestic workers, the family noted, therefore clearly suggests to “us that the police knew the facts and circumstances even before beginning any form of the investigation.”
The family clarified that when the two previous attacks took place, there were no contractors in the yard, and the attackers did not take any valuables.
“Instead, they searched every document they could lay their hands on, giving us reason to believe that the attacks that resulted in the death of a promising young woman were also meant to recover some documents they perceive or believe Cllr. Scott had it her possession.
"They also disabled some systems in the former Chief Justice’s car, which from all indications appeared to have been another means of carrying out their criminal plan,” the family said, while wondering where the police might have gotten its clues about domestic workers being responsible for the attacks.
The family expressed frustration over the fact that the police have yet to make any arrests since the incident, apart from people taken from the compound for interrogation purposes.
It is important to note, the family said, “that since the third attack, gruesome murder, and taking away of former Chief Justice Scott’s personal laptop and phones, which we again reported to the police on February 22, between 10 and 11 p.m., no arrest has been made.”
Sources indicated that when the police arrived on the scene that early morning, they took away the two private security officers and a male family member (Uncle Chumu) who came over following the first two attacks to help provide some level of protection.
“Following the first two attacks and seeing that the government did nothing to provide any form of protection for the former Chief Justice and her family Uncle Chumu had decided to be spending the nights with us to help keep watch along with the Private Security. "To the best of our knowledge, these three men are still in police custody.”
An additional three people who were in the compound the day prior to the incident have reportedly been taken in by the police for interrogation. These include Godson Kollie, a young man who lives with Cllr. Scott, and two electrical contractors who had done some work there hours before the incidents.
The family says it remains ever grateful to scores of citizens, friends, sympathizers, professional colleagues, organizations, current and former officials of government, and diplomatic missions here and outside of our borders who have visited, called, texted, or made public condemnation of the barbaric attacks on us. We appreciate highly, the many voices calling for justice for our family and many other innocent people who have experienced such devilish acts.
