Celebrations of Joseph Boakai’s victory in Liberia’s presidential election turned tragic on Monday November 20 evening in Monrovia when a car ploughed into his supporters for an unknown reason, killing three people.
The incident occurred just hours after the National Elections Commission officially announced that Mr. Boakai had defeated incumbent President George Weah in the November 14 run-off. The alleged driver of the car was arrested, the police announced on Tuesday. No explanation was given for his behavior.
But the fact that these events affected a gathering of Mr. Boakai’s supporters has rekindled fears of a violent post-election aftermath, while Liberia’s foreign partners have welcomed the generally peaceful conduct of the vote, despite violence during the campaign and between the two rounds.
“The Liberia National Police have opened an investigation into the tragic event at the Unity Party headquarters, which (…) left 25 people injured,” police spokesman Moses Carter told reporters on Tuesday. Of the 25 people affected, “the number of people killed in this event (…) now stands at three”, two men and a woman, he said.
The presumed driver of the car has been arrested, added Mr. Carter, who described him as a “presumed suspect”. He is being questioned at Police headquarters, he added. The spokesman declined to comment on the accidental or intentional causes of the tragedy or on the driver’s possible motives. “Investigations are ongoing”, he replied stubbornly.
Witnesses quoted by the media reported that the crowd initially thought it was a mechanical failure, but that the driver retained control of the vehicle after splitting the crowd, stopped further on, set fire to the car, and left on a waiting motorcycle. These claims have not been corroborated by the police.
Videos posted on social networks after the event showed a large number of people on the ground. Many were bloodied, some inert, while others were trying to help in the confusion.