By Gareyson Y. Neufville
A magistrate of the National Elections Commission (NEC) assigned to Sinoe County has reportedly gone missing after traveling to Maryland County for an NEC workshop, raising concern among family members, residents, and electoral authorities.
The missing official has been identified as Solomon Jaryenneh.
Speaking to Verity News’ Maryland County correspondent in an exclusive interview on Thursday, the wife of the missing magistrate, Hawa Jaryenneh, described the situation as unfortunate and called on the Liberian government and security authorities to help locate her husband.
According to Mrs. Jaryenneh, the family resides in the Cawel Community, while her husband works for the NEC in Greenville. She explained that he traveled to Maryland County for an NEC training exercise before he later disappeared.
She disclosed that during the training in Maryland County, her husband informed her that he experienced health complications and sought treatment at J.J. Dossen Hospital. Doctors reportedly instructed him to return after one week for follow-up treatment.
After the Maryland training, Magistrate Jaryenneh reportedly traveled to Nimba County for another NEC-related training. However, instead of returning to Monrovia or his assigned county, he informed his wife that he was heading back to Maryland County to continue his medical treatment.
“When I asked him why he was returning to Maryland, he told me he wanted to complete the treatment he started at J.J. Dossen Hospital,” she explained.
Mrs. Jaryenneh said she last spoke with her husband on April 2 after he reportedly arrived in Maryland County. During that conversation, he informed her that he was being accommodated in Harper by NEC Maryland County Assistant Magistrate Thomas Wilson.
“Since then, all his phones have been off and nobody can explain his whereabouts,” she said.
She further explained that Assistant Magistrate Wilson later informed her that he had instructed his security personnel to hand over one of his apartment keys to Magistrate Jaryenneh because he was out of the county at the time.
According to her, Wilson also mentioned that her husband spoke of plans to travel privately to Ivory Coast, prompting her to travel there in search of him.
“I checked several checkpoints from Liberia to San Pedro in Ivory Coast, but there is no record of anyone bearing his name,” she said. “Sometimes his internet signal comes on, and when people call the phone it rings briefly before switching off again. This situation is frustrating and confusing for me.”
When contacted by Verity News, Assistant Magistrate Thomas Wilson confirmed that Magistrate Jaryenneh stayed at one of his apartments in Harper through arrangements made by his security personnel.
“It is true we interacted when he came from Sinoe County,” Wilson stated. “I was aware that he visited the hospital during the training period. After the training in Maryland, he traveled to Nimba County for another NEC exercise.”
Wilson further explained that while he was traveling to Nimba County, Magistrate Jaryenneh informed him that he was returning to Maryland County and requested temporary accommodation.
“He later told me he had plans to travel to Ivory Coast. That was the last interaction we had,” Wilson added.
Efforts by Verity News to contact officials of the National Elections Commission of Liberia regarding the matter were unsuccessful as of press time.
Meanwhile, residents in Maryland County have expressed concern over the disappearance and are calling on state security authorities to launch a thorough investigation into the matter.
Some residents also warned that incidents of this nature could create fear among Liberians serving in national assignments across southeastern Liberia if proper actions are not taken to address the situation.
