Former Finance Minister Samuel D. Tweah Jr. has announced plans to file a libel lawsuit against media personality Stanton Witherspoon over allegations of Tweah’s involvement in a $30 million COVID-19 scandal. Witherspoon claimed on his network that Tweah would be arrested over the scandal, which Tweah described as “malicious garbage.”
Tweah has instructed his lawyers to file the lawsuit, citing damage to his reputation from Witherspoon’s claims. “I don’t care about Mr. Witherspoon and his sources; I care that Liberians have falsely been made to believe I am illegally connected to some $30 million dollars,” Tweah said.
The COVID-19 Household Food Support Program (COHFSP) was funded by a $25 million loan from the IMF and a $5 million grant from the World Bank. The World Food Program (WFP) managed the funds, spending $23.838 million and leaving a balance of $1.171 million to be transferred back to the government and $857,555 to be returned to the World Bank. Notably, the current Unity Party government, led by Finance Minister Augustine Kpehe Ngafuah, even sought to reallocate $500,000 in savings from the COHFSP to support the Home-Grown School Feeding Programme.
The former Minister described the rumors as a conspiracy to destroy his reputation and emphasized the need for honest national discourse. “We cannot fight corruption by lying on innocent people; by sustaining fake and false narratives in the public when the facts are evident and clear as day,” he said. The lawsuit against Witherspoon is set to proceed, with Tweah seeking redress for the alleged damage to his reputation.
