The Inquirer
Monrovia, Liberia

Distributed by

The Perspective
Atlanta, Georgia

Posted May 19, 2004

One of the sons of former Liberian president William V. S. Tubman says his life has been plagued with complete hardship due to his neglect and denial by some members of the family to properties and funds belonging to the late former president; as Patrick K. Wrokpoh reports.

Alexander Glah Tubman said, his elder brother Shad Tubman and others including William and Ellis Tubman, have sowed a seed of disunity in the family by claiming all of their late father’s wealth at the detriment of him and few others.

Alexander Glah Tubman who walked into the offices of this paper to explain what he called “marginalization”, alleged that when the former president died in 1971, a family meeting was called and that he and few others assembled at the venue of the meeting.

He said the meeting was intended to see how they could discuss among themselves, issues relative to handling and living on the inherited wealth of their late father.

Glah Tubman in a sad mood, said to his utmost surprise, Shad Tubman and others who claim to be the elite decision-makers, changed the venue overnight while they were waiting at the previously announced venue.

He added that Mr. Shad Tubman and his cohorts, went ahead with the meeting and decided on what to do with their father’s properties without their input.

Glah Tubman said he and those left out of the discussion, were not even briefed on its final outcome, something which he claimed later provoked him to take the matter to court in the early 80s.

“But when the court was looking into the case, Shad Tubman begged and requested for an out of court settlement,” he added.

He said because he was very young without much experience in life he agreed to an out of court settlement and his brother Shad paid him some US$100.00 plus amount at the time to resolve the matter.

“At the time, the ex-change rate was one to one and that amount can not sustain me up to now” he pointed out.

Quizzed as to what his demands are, Mr. Alexander Glah Tubman who claimed that the former president had him with a Kru woman named Jennie Howard, said “I am requesting for two houses and two million and fifty thousand dollars-which is the amount in the bank book my family left for me.”

“My father was a wealthy man. In fact, up to the time of his death, he was the 3rd richest man in Africa. Why should I suffer,” he wondered.

According to him, he has no job at the moment and was now living on handouts from friends while at the same time, sleeping just anywhere the night catches him.

“I cannot continue living like this when I was a member of the first family living in the Executive Mansion,” he pointed out.

When contacted, Mr. Shad Tubman declined to comment but simply said “you are the press, you can decide what to publish or write.”

Aisha Conneh Denies Transporting Heavy Weapons

The ‘Iron Lady’ of the Liberians United for Reconciliation and Democracy (LURD), Mrs. Aicha Keita Conneh has vehemently denied recent news report that LURD was transporting heavy war-making weaponry across the border into Guinea.

Mrs. Conneh described the story as not true. She said, the story has no basis whatsoever but fabricated to discourage her good intention and efforts in the interest of peace relative to the on-going DDRR program.

Madam Conneh who was recently awarded a Medal for her role towards the attainment of peace in the country, said she would rather be in the vanguard of encouraging all Liberians to follow her footstep in seeing to it that genuine peace returns to the country.

In an exclusive interview with this paper late Monday evening, Mrs. Conneh called on Liberians to focus their action to work rather than creating or telling lies that have the propensity to creating chaos and disunity among the nations and people.

She however, cautioned the writer of such a ‘falsehood’ to redirect his thinking on positive developments rather than writing a mere story based on speculative propaganda that would not augur well for the process. “This is why when I am on tour, telling the ex-combatants(LURD, Model, and ex-GOL ) to disarm for the good of the society, I always carry with me UNMIL peacekeepers so as to ensure transparency in my efforts and the process as a whole,” Mrs. Conneh disclosed.

“I’m the mother of peace, the mother of all children especially those who took up arms in this country. So I’ll do all to discouraging them from taking up arms again,” Mrs. Conneh reiterated.

She said her peace mission will not only stop in Liberia, but will go farther in the sub-region and yea the continent of Africa as a whole, and as such she was reechoing her call for Liberians to hurry up with the DDRR process so as to signal to the International Community our own preparedness for the peace in the country,”Mrs. Conneh stated

Recently, a local daily reported in its lead story that LURD through their Iron Lady Aisha Conneh have reportedly ordered the transportation back into Guinea all artillery pieces including launchers and mortar guns for safe-keeping. But in her reaction, she said all mortars and artillery pieces belonging to LURD have already been turned over to the UNMIL peace-keepers in Tubmanburg, and that there was no more heavy weapons left to be ordered transported into Guinea as reported by the paper.