The recent violence in Lofa County that has claimed the lives of four persons and scores of others wounded is a tragedy that saddens the hearts of all peace loving Liberians. For fourteen long years our country didn’t know peace. Now that the war is over it is our desire to see Liberia moving forward with the war becoming a history. This time around we should be concentrating on peace, reconciliation, and development. While certainly this is what all peace loving Liberians desire, we were rudely awakened by the reports of current violent episode in Lofa County. In the wake of this violent episode, we expect that all peace loving Liberians, especially those in the media profession, will play their parts in calming the situation down instead of enflaming it with biased reporting.

Speaking recently during a training program for some Liberian journalists, the Executive Director of Liberia Media Centre (LMC), Lawrence Randall urged the Liberian media “to go beyond their traditional ways of reporting on conflict sensitive situation.” He told them to use “mitigating approach that concentrates on how to find solution to a conflict in their reportages.”

In the wake of this violent situation in Lofa, I have been combing through the various media reports to see whether the idea of “mitigating approach that concentrates on how to find solution to a conflict in their reportages” is being taken into consideration. One media institution that has failed the test of fair reporting is Daily Observer. Compared to all the other media reports coming from Liberia regarding the situation in Lofa, Daily Observer is biased and its report is intended to enflame the situation rather than to mitigate it. That’s why in this public manner we write to call attention to such biased reporting by a paper which many considered to be a respected medium of information.

As of now, what we know of the situation in Lofa is the disappearance of 21 years old girl called Korpu Kamara whose dead body, according to reports, was found in the vicinity of a mosque in Konia, a town around Voinjama, the county capital. Some “students” suspected the Mandingoes for being the culprits and as such they took the law into their own hands by attacking the mosque. The news of the mosque attack in Konia reached to Voinjama where some Mandingoes reacted by attacking some churches. What is written above conforms to what is being reported by the Front Page Africa which reports that “Students went on a rampage and destroyed a mosque in Konean” and in reaction “the Muslims of Voinjama went on a rampage and burned down churches, including the Catholic mission." Going on further, Front Page reports that “Witnesses said the death of a Christian student in the Konean village near the town of Voinjama - the capital of Lofa Province - sparked clashes in which churches and mosques were destroyed.” In the same report, it is said the “police source confirmed that the mosque and churches had been damaged, and said they were trying to calm the situation.”

While one can clearly see the balance in the Frontpage Africa’s reports on the incidence, the reports by Daily Observer is the complete opposite of that objectivity. Here is what Daily Observer is reporting, “Following the discovery, eyewitnesses said, when the people who were near the mosque were asked about the death of the teenage girl, they denied having any knowledge about the incident. Those who were near the mosque were said to be Muslims, while those who were asking about the cause of Korpo’s death were believed to be Christians. Eyewitnesses narrated that it was during the confrontations that a member of the Muslim group, name not given, made a telephone call to the Muslim community in Voinjama and reported that the mosque in Konia had been set ablaze by the Christian community. Following the telephone conversation about the confusion in Konia Town, another eyewitness in Voinjama said, some members of the Muslim Community in Voinjama, in their reaction, mobilized other Muslims who launched an attack on churches and schools believed to be owned by Christians in Voinjama. The attackers, eyewitnesses said, vandalized, looted and destroyed churches, private homes as well as vehicles and other valuables which were said to be owned by Christians.”

In the above report, Daily Observer failed to report the fact that the “mosque was attacked by the students” that went on the rampage in Konia but rather blamed the “member of the Muslim group, who made a telephone call to the Muslim community in Voinjama and reported that the mosque in Konia had been set ablaze by the Christian community.” An objective reader can tell the difference between what Daily Observer has reported and what is being reported by other media entities.

Let’s read the following passage as reported by the Inquirer Newspaper: “Reports from the county said following the discovery of the body, some traditional people believed to be from the Lorma ethnic group alleged that the deceased must have been murdered by some elements of the Mandingo ethnic group. The report said the traditional people claimed that the Mandingoes were in the habit of masterminding such mysterious killings, simply to make human sacrifices especially when they complete the construction of a new mosque. The report said the allegation came just at a time when the Mandingoes most of whom are Moslems have just completed the construction of a new mosque in Kornia.”

In this report, Inquirer’s version of the event differ with that of Frontpage Africa for while Frontpage emphasizes “students” who went on the rampage, the Inquirer is reporting that some “traditional people claimed that the Mandingoes were in the habit of masterminding such mysterious killings, simply to make human sacrifices.” Hence justifications for attacking the mosque whose congregants are believed to have something to do with the killing of Korpu Kamara. Moslems engaged in ritualistic killing? This is the first time I have heard this. Has enough thought being given to the fact that the real killer might have deliberately deposited the corpse to the vicinity of the mosque to make it look like the Moslems are engaged in ritualistic killing because it is very strange to hear of Moslems engaged in such abhorrent practice?

Now, should we treat the issue as religious war or ethnic conflict? As reported by the Inquirer Newspaper, “Superintendent Kortimai further refuted claims that the violence began as a result of a Muslim and Christian clashes describing what happened in the county as a dispute that erupted between some people from the Lorma and Mandingo ethic groups.” In their reportage, only the Inquirer and the New Democrat treat the matter as ethnic rather than religious. Frontpage Africa and Daily Observer treat it as religious but while FrontPage’s report is balanced, Daily Observer is completely way out of line of professional balanced reporting. Not only does it show biasness in its writings on the situation, Daily Observer published the before the incidence photo of the Catholic church that was attacked in Voinjama without showing any picture of any of the mosques affected in Konia or Voinjama. This is a deliberate attempt on the part of Daily Observer to over-sentimentalize the religious factor of this unfortunate incidence and doing so with complete one-sidedness. This is unfair and has the propensity to undermine the peaceful coexistence of various religious groups in the country.

Editor’s Note: Nvasekie N. Konneh is a Liberian poet and writer and veteran of the US Navy. He’s the author of the book of poetry, “Going to War for America.” Since 1992 up to present, Nvasekie Konneh has written extensively in newspapers in Liberia and the US. His articles and poems have appeared in many newspapers and websites. Nvasekie Konneh currently resides in Lansdowne, Pennsylvania, where he has completed a memoir, The Land of My Father’s Birth, chronicling his experience of growing up in Liberia, his refugee life in Abidjan, Ivory Coast in the early 90s and his nine years of service in the US Navy. He can be reached at This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it This e-mail address is being protected from spam bots, you need JavaScript enabled to view it .