Liberia: ‘PLP Cassell Refutes Claims of Imprisonment’ 

Moses D. Sandy

The Vision and Standard Bearer of the People’s Liberation Party (PLP), Dr. Daniel Cassell, says he is neither in prison nor undergoing a probe by federal authorities in the US as speculated in Liberia.

“I am not a criminal,” Cassell stated.

The PLP political leader was, however, seen handcuffed at the airport and escorted to the Clayton County Sheriff’s office in Jonesboro, Georgia. He was transferred to the county jail, FrontPageAfrica reported in March this year. He had traveled with his wife whose passport was also seized at the airport. In Georgia, he was taken in as a fugitive from justice.

But Cassell, at a town hall gathering with a cross-section of US-based Liberians at the All-Nations Christian Church located in Clifton Heights, Delaware County, Pennsylvania recently, was quick to clarify that it was not him but his New Jersey-based mental health, behavioral, and substance abuse agencies, that was hooked by the government. The agencies are Kwenyan Professional Health Services, LLC and Kwenyan, and Associates. He said the matter is being investigated. 

He furthered, “As an individual, I have not been charged with a crime, or sent to jail in this country.” In April of this year, the New Jersey State Attorney General’s Office charged Kwenyan Professional Health Services, LLC and Kwenyan and Associates for allegedly defrauding the NJ Medicaid program of an unspecified amount for services provided to clients in New Jersey over a specified period of years in the past.

Speaking on July 9, at a town hall gathering with a cross-section of US-based Liberians at the All-Nations Christian Church located in Clifton Heights, Delaware County, Pennsylvania, the PLP Standard Bearer declared: “As a business owner and a responsible leader, I take full responsibility for whatever that reportedly happened while I was away”. 

He told his audience, “The case is being litigated in court; and with God’s grace, I know justice will prevail and I will be exonerated. I believe in the US Justice System.” 

Cassell maintained, “In this country, I know that an accused is presumed innocent until proven guilty in the court of law.”

Presidential Bid

Cassell, the US-based Liberian businessman, and humanitarian turned politician told his supporters that irrespective of the legal battle his company now faces, his bid for the Liberian presidency remains unwavering.  He said he chose to contest the presidency because Liberia is in desperate need of a leader. 

He went on, “Our country is plagued with problems that can’t be solved by an individual, but the collective efforts of all Liberians through policy implementation.”

He said the PLP will be a key contender in the 2023 general and presidential elections in Liberia.  He said the Party as a grass root political institution, is fixated on rescuing Liberia from its current state of demise.

He described the country’s security, health, education, and employment sectors as a mess. 

He said most Liberians in the diaspora get three meals daily. On the contrary, he asked, “How many of our people in Liberia have such an opportunity?”He labeled the situation of Liberians at home as sad. He frowned on the repeated reports of secret killings and sexual violations of children and adults in the country. 

He noted, “I am not saying this because I want to make the country look bad but that’s the reality.”  He told the people that to alter the current appalling situation in Liberia, “We need to work in unison with George Weah, a one-term president.”

Winning the Presidency

The PLP leader told his supporters that as a realist, he understands the challenges associated with going to an incumbent leadership in a political race, but he strongly believes that the PLP is capable of defeating President Weah and the CDC in 2023. 

He said the Party is willing to collaborate with any political party or groups that share its philosophy and ideology.  He said, “With unison, we can win the CDC; and if we do, my administration will create policies and laws that will decentralize Liberia’s wealth and resources.”

Return to Liberia

He said the PLP is dedicated to making Weah a one-term president, and that is why he will soon return to Liberia for the rejuvenation of his presidential campaign. He emphatically stated, “By next month, I will announce to everyone the official date of my return to Liberia.” 

He said plans are being made with executives of the PLP for his return to the country.

PLP’s Vision

Cassell said the PLP’s mission and vision statements are fixated on “Helping disenfranchised and marginalized Liberians.”  He said the Party caters to the needs of the poor and the hopeless.  He told the gathering that in today’s Liberia, the PLP through the Cassell’s Humanitarian Foundation has the highest number of scholarship recipients. 

Moreover, he said, “We are helping our people in the areas of education, health, social services, constructions of farm-to-market roads, bridges and market buildings, and affordable public transportation.” 

He said when the global Coronavirus Disease (COVID) struck in 2019, the PLP intervened by providing drugs, medical supplies and assistance to hospitals, clinics, and community health centers in Liberia.

Corruption Fight

He said if elected, the PLP administration will fight public sector corruption aggressively by holding the corrupt accountable. He said as president, he will lead by example. 

He emphasized, “The leader sets the tone, and I will hold myself accountable in the management of the country’s resources.”  He said his administration will conduct a routine performance evaluation of public officials, and monitor, and track the government’s incomes and expenditures.

He said his administration will also strengthen the work of the legislative and executive branches of government in the fight against public sector corruption. 

He maintained, “This is necessary because corruption undermines national development.” Cassell is 55 years old. He is a career psychologist.  He previously worked as a Behavioral Specialist Consultant (BSC) in the Philadelphia and Bucks County areas in the State of Pennsylvania. 

He became a licensed professional counselor (LPC) in Pennsylvania in 2008. In 2009, he also became a licensed clinical drug and alcohol counselor in New Jersey.  After securing the license, he started his career in private practice.