MONROVIA – Madam Wynee Cummings Wilson, the lady claiming to be a victim of sexual harassment allegedly meted against her by Liberia’s Minister of Foreign Affairs, Dee Maxwell Saah Kemayah, has termed as diabolic lie, a statement recently issued by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, among others, informing the world that contrary to claims by Madam Wilson that she’s an employee of Liberia’s Permanent Mission to the UN and that she has been witch-hunted by the Minister of Foreign Affairs are untrue.
In its statement released to the press on Wednesday, the Ministry noted that the truth is, that Madam Wilson was never an employee of the country’s Permanent Mission to the UN, indicating that she was rather accepted as an “apprentice” since she pleaded with the Mission to afford her the opportunity to learn more about the United Nations System, where she desires to seek a future career.
The Permanent Mission, or the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, is not in possession of a copy of any appointment letter addressed to Madam Wilson, the statement from the Ministry pointed out.
But Madam Wilson, in a counter-statement, has replied the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, retorting that assertions from the Ministry are all a diabolical lie intended to mislead the public from Minister Kemayah, whom she accused three years ago of sexually harassing her when he served as Liberia’s Permanent Rep to the UN.
Madam Wilson, who claims Kemayah has no morals, no principles, and no values, argued that the Ministry’s assertions made public Wednesday are deliberate distortions that represent a pattern of harassment, intimidations, retaliations, and retributions by Kemayah since she reported him for sexual harassment to the Office of Foreign Missions at the United States Department of State in September 2020.
She narrated that for the last six months, Kemayah has refused to authorize her salary payments and ordered that she be removed from the payroll, adding that to date, all appeals to address her situation have fallen on deaf ears and that she has not received a penny out of her salary owed her.
However, for the sole purpose of service to her country, Madam Wilson disclosed that she continues to report to work regularly with the hope that all the complaints she made to senior officials of the Government of Liberia in Monrovia regarding the ill-treatment meted against her at the Permanent Mission allegedly by Kemayah and his cronies will yield fruitful results.
She recalled that quite recently, Kemayah also allegedly ordered that she be prevented from entering the office at the Permanent Mission, indicating that regarding her employment eligibility as a “Local Staff” at the Permanent Mission of the Republic of Liberia to the United Nations, the United States Mission to the United Nations has since provided clarity on this matter, which she said was forwarded to the Ministry of Foreign Affairs in Monrovia.
“For the record, I am not an “apprentice”! My bank account reflecting salary payments to me does not carry such title,” Madam Wilson refuted claims made by the Foreign Ministry that she was never an employee of Liberia’s Permanent Mission to the UN, but was rather accepted as an “apprentice”.
“I provided on multiple occasions, as requested, my valid Employment Authorization document in keeping with United States law to enable me to work as a “Local” staff at the permanent mission,” said Madam Wilson, who noted that since September 2019, she has served in the capacity of a secretary, even though, she’s considered a “local” staff.
“How come I was placed on the Ministry of Foreign Affairs payroll and received salaries when Minister Kemayah was Ambassador,” Madam Wilson quipped.
She continued: “How did I get on the Ministry’s payroll and receive monthly salary for over three (3) years? Why all of a sudden after I reported the sexual harassment by Minister Kemayah, then I am no longer a staff of the Permanent Mission but without a termination letter? Did I not meet the host country’s requirements? Or does this mean that the Permanent Mission of Liberia to the United Nations was in violation of the host country’s laws?”
Madam Wilson stated that she believes the action taken against her on Monday, November 6, 2023, was a continuation of the pattern of harassment, intimidations, retaliations, and retributions by Minister Kemayah to silence her from speaking out.
Smart News Liberia (SNL) has seen a video in which Madam Wilson was on 6 November prevented by United States police officers from having access to the office at the Permanent Mission, allegedly upon the orders of Foreign Minister Kemayah. Madam Wilson was thereafter arrested by officers of the New York Police Detachment 17, for her refusal to have adhered to U.S. police officers’ advice to vacate the Permanent Mission’s premises pending settlement of the issue by authorities of the Liberian government in Monrovia.
“Let the word go forth that Minister Kemayah cannot break my spirit to fight for justice. No matter what Minister Kemayah throws my way, he will account for his actions either willingly or he will be forced to, through the appropriate laws,” Madam Wilson emphasized.
