Liberia: He Pressed for Modad’s Exit. Now Witherspoon Says His Campaign Relied on False Information

Spoon Network’s executive alleges that government insiders sought the former commerce minister’s removal, reopening questions about the controversy that preceded his resignation.

MONROVIA — When public anger over a government vehicle engulfed Amin Modad, Stanton Witherspoon used his media platform to press for the commerce minister’s departure. Now, the Spoon Network executive is offering a different account of the campaign he helped advance: He says the information supplied to him was wrong.

According to an account of recent Spoon Talk appearances provided for this article, Mr. Witherspoon alleges that people within the Unity Party administration worked to force

Mr. Modad from office. He says he possesses recordings of discussions about the effort.
He is also calling for the former minister’s return to government, saying Mr. Modad brings “credibility and discipline.”

The reversal revives questions about a controversy that ended with Mr. Modad’s resignation in October 2024. It also raises a question about the public campaign against him: Was it driven by legitimate scrutiny, misleading information or, as Mr. Witherspoon now alleges, a deliberate effort by political insiders?

The material available for this article does not settle that question. The broadcasts and the recordings Mr. Witherspoon reportedly cited have not been independently reviewed. The alleged participants have not been identified, and the dates and precise contents of their discussions remain unknown.

For Mr. Modad, the reported remarks return attention to an argument he has maintained since leaving office: that accusations hardened into public judgment before the evidence received a fair hearing.
“I was condemned by the very public I was diligently serving and pushed to honorably resign,” he wrote in a Facebook statement supplied for this article.

The statement, titled “Accusations Are Not Evidence or Facts: A Lesson from My Experience,” describes his resignation as an effort to protect his family and reputation, remove a distraction for the administration and give investigative processes room to proceed.

At the center of the dispute was a vehicle purchased for his official use. Public criticism portrayed it as an extravagant personal benefit. Mr. Modad has disputed both that characterization and widely circulated descriptions of its price and specifications.
In his account, the Liberia Revenue Authority purchased the vehicle for the Ministry of Commerce and Industry and paid the vendor directly. He says the ownership documents named the ministry, and that the vehicle remained with the government after he resigned.

An LRA statement dated September 23, 2024, cited in the material supplied for this article, confirmed the authority’s role in the purchase and rejected accusations surrounding the transaction. Mr. Modad also pointed to documents and testimony presented during a Senate hearing as support for his account that the purchase followed legal requirements.
The difference between the vehicle as publicly described and the purchase documented before the Senate forms a central part of his defense.
Claims circulating during the controversy described a US$150,000 bulletproof vehicle comparable to one used by the United States president. According to the supplied account of documents presented at the hearing, the purchase price was approximately US$88,000 before taxes. Mr. Modad described it as an off-road vehicle intended to support work in rural communities.
“Our agenda was to make sure we take the Ministry to the people and supported the growth of Liberian business across the country,” he wrote.

His statement also challenged allegations involving a privately owned boat and a bank loan associated with Bella Casa Hotel. Those matters, alongside the vehicle purchase, formed part of his broader complaint that claims about his finances had been presented without sufficient regard for the underlying records.

The Liberia Anti-Corruption Commission examined his assets and financial records, according to the supplied material. Mr. Modad maintains that the examination and the Senate proceedings vindicated him. The underlying findings were not provided for independent assessment in this article.

Mr. Witherspoon’s reported acknowledgment shifts attention toward the origins of the information that drove the controversy, and the checks applied before it reached the public.

But an acknowledgment that information was inaccurate does not establish that it was deliberately fabricated. Nor does it, on its own, prove a coordinated effort within the government to remove a minister. Those allegations would require examination of the recordings, supporting communications and accounts from the people involved.

No response from the Unity Party leadership was included in the material supplied for this article.

Mr. Modad’s stated demand is for a standard of public scrutiny that gives evidence and a response their place before judgment is passed.
“We must demand evidence, hear both sides, allow due process to work, and give investigations the time and space necessary to establish the truth,” he wrote.