MONROVIA, Montserrado – Rep. Yekeh Kolubah has filed an official complaint to the Ministry of Justice accusing his former security guards of attempting to murder him.

“I extend my sincere compliments to you and co-officers at the ministry and wish to rapidly bring to your attention threats against my life by some former personal staff from my office, for which your intervention is needed,” Kolubah wrote to the ministry.

According to the lawmaker from Montserrado’s 10^th district, he has intelligence that Abu Kieta, Frank Morgan, Saah Tamba, and Terry Seeqeh have been overheard bragging on street corners of planning to kill him. He asked that the Justice Ministry intervene for his safety.

Kolubah said he had dismissed his former security guards due to their rude behavior and after he noticed that they were frequently meeting with rival politicians.

However, the accused men have dismissed Kolubah’s claims. They say they parted ways with the lawmaker due to inhumane treatment on his part, in addition to an insufficiently low salary that the lawmaker paid them.

The Bush Chicken spoke with two of the former security guards, Saah Tamba and Terry Seeqeh, who denied the allegations and gave Kolubah the lawmaker 24 hours to retract his statement or face legal actions.

They said Kolubah’s letter was an attempt to destroy their characters that they had built over the past years.

Tamba expressed particular frustration at Kolubah’s treatment, given that securing the firebrand meant an increased level of risk higher than most other clients.

“This enter letter came as a surprise to us especially when we saw people running with it all on Facebook,” he said. “With the level of risk we took for this man in Old Road and other parts of the district for which we are longer free, it’s very disheartening.”

Tamba said he was surprised to see the lawmaker writing an official letter to the Justice Ministry, in which the lawmaker has previously said he had little confidence. Tamba surmised that this was only happening because he and the other former guards had requested that Kolubah’s office pay remaining salaries owed them.

For Terry Seeqeh, who said he recently turned in his resignation letter to the lawmaker because he was not treated well, said Kolubah did not respect labor laws to give his workers leave, even when it came to family matters.

“How can you work for someone and your loved one gets involved in an accident and there is no way you can go there because any attempt to go will be met with six months’ suspension without pay?” Seeqeh said.

“The lawmaker has a habit of dismissing people without justification, which has prompted my resignation.”

Seeqeh challenged the lawmaker to produce evidence to the justice minister to support his allegations.

Kolubah’s spat with his security guards comes at a time when he’s undergoing a trial for the alleged actions of his men. Rep. Kolubah was arrested on June 5, 2019 and accused of ordering his bodyguards to mercilessly beat a resident of his district who had refused to accept a leaflet and t-shirt for the June 7 Save the State protest.

Kolubah and five others were jointly indicted on June 18 for multiple crimes, including aggravated assault, criminal attempt to commit murder, criminal conspiracy, and kidnapping.

According to the indictment, the defendants were charged with their involvement in kidnapping and beating Emmanuel Freeman, who they claimed was a thief in the Old Road community.

Featured photo by Zeze Ballah