Summary:
- Nimba County Senatorial By-election Candidate Edith Gonglo-Weh has claimed that Representative Samuel Kogar, who is also contesting the election, proposed a bill in 2018 to split the county into three separate parts.
- We have verified this claim by reviewing the House of Representatives’ Bill Matrix and found it to be misleading.
- Representative Kogar did not propose any such bill in 2018.
On April 3, Edith Gonglo-Weh, a candidate in the upcoming senatorial by-election for Nimba County, claimed that Representative Samuel Kogar proposed a bill in 2018 to split the county into three separate counties.
Madam Gonglo-Weh made this claim during her appearance on Radio Sehnwai in Sanniquellie, while responding to a question about rumors suggesting she supports dividing Nimba County.
Representative Samuel Gongben Kogar is the Movemnet for Democracy and Reconstruction (MDR) candiafte who is also backed by the Unity Party’s in the ensuing by-election in Nimba County.
The Claim
A direct quote from Madam Gonglo-Weh reads: “Let me tell you who wants to divide Nimba. I was in the States in 2018 when I saw on the Internet that current Representative Samuel Kogar had proffered a bill to the Legislature to divide Nimba into three counties. The facts are there that he proffered a bill to divide the county”.
Rating Justification
To verify this claim, we contacted Madam Gonglo-Weh via WhatsApp, requesting the source of her information. As of the time of the publication of this fact-check report, she has not responded. We will update when she responds.
We then searched the internet and found no news articles indicating that Representative Samuel Kogar submitted a bill to separate Nimba County into three counties.
However, we reached out to the Press Bureau of the Honorable House of Representatives through its Director, Mr. Roberts Haynes.
In response, Mr. Haynes described the claim as false and misleading, stating that Representative Kogar did not propose any such bill in 2018.
Mr. Haynes further shared copies of the House of Representatives’ bills matrix, upon our request.
The ‘Bills Matrix’ contains communications and bills that are sent to committee rooms for plenary enactment.
After reviewing the document, we found no record of any bill introduced by Representative Kogar at the Legislature to divide Nimba County
Conclusion
Based on a review of the evidence, we conclude that the claim made by Madam Edith Gonglo-Weh that Representative Samuel Kogar proposed a bill in 2018 to divide Nimba County into three counties is misleading. No such bill has been introduced by Representative Samuel Kogar at the Legislature.
