SIMEON WIAKANTY<\/b><\/p>\n
Africa-Press – Liberia. <\/strong><\/span>Former Defense Minister Brownie Samukai has clarified that his appearance at the Forkay Klon Jlaleh Church, as seen in a photo with President Weah, has no political link.<\/p>\n Early Monday morning, a group photo in which President George Weah and Mr. Samukai were sitting side by side in the church surfaced on various social media platforms, raising curiosity in the minds of many. Some pundits, responding to the photo, assumed that the former Defense Minister had crossed over to the ruling party, the Coalition for Democratic Change (CDC), to support the re-election bid of President George Manneh Weah ahead of the ensuing runoff election.<\/p>\n But reacting to these claims via a mobile phone call on OK FM in Monrovia, Mr. Samukai clarified that he was simply responding to an invitation from President George Weah. He described the Liberian leader as a friend, adding that his attendance at the church service was not an endorsement of President George Weah’s reelection ahead of the November 14, 2023, presidential runoff election as apparently believed by others.<\/p>\n \u201cI want to make it clear that my attendance at the Forkay Klon Church was not a political or religious endorsement,\u201d Samukai said in an interview. \u201cI was simply responding to an invitation from a friend who is a member of the church,\u201d he said. He added that, as a Christian, he believes in the freedom of worship and he respects the beliefs of others.<\/p>\n The former Defense Minister stressed that he has no political ambition at the moment, noting that his attendance at the church was purely personal and not an endorsement of the Coalition for Democratic Change standard bearer. \u201cI have no political ambitions at the moment,\u201d he said. \u201cI am focused on my personal life and my family.\u201d<\/p>\n Samukai, who served as Minister of Defense during the two-term administration of former President Ellen Johnson Sirleaf, has been in the news recently over a court case involving the alleged misappropriation of funds meant for the Armed Forces of Liberia. He was found guilty of the charges and was ordered to pay a fine of US$1.2 million or face imprisonment.<\/p>\n Despite the court ruling, Samukai has maintained his innocence and has appealed the decision. He has, however, restituted a portion of the funds as demanded by the court.<\/p>\n He has also been vocal in his criticism of the government’s handling of the case, saying that he is being targeted for political reasons.<\/p>\n However, Samukai has made it clear that he has no plans to enter politics at the moment and that his attendance at the church was purely personal.<\/p>\n For More News And Analysis About Liberia<\/a> Follow Africa-Press<\/a><\/strong><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" SIMEON WIAKANTY Africa-Press – Liberia. Former Defense Minister Brownie Samukai has clarified that his appearance at the Forkay Klon Jlaleh Church, as seen in a photo with President Weah, has no political link. Early Monday morning, a group photo in which President George Weah and Mr. Samukai were sitting side by side in the church […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":84,"featured_media":46786,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[2,12],"tags":[233,237,234],"class_list":["post-46787","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-all-news","category-policy","tag-africa-press","tag-africa-press-liberia","tag-liberia"],"yoast_head":"\n