Claim: "Rep. Ellen A. Attoh-Wreh dedicated the bridge two days ago."
Source: Liberian Exile Activist Martin K. N. Kollie
Verdict: Misleading; Representative Ellen A. Attoh-Wreh did not dedicate a bridge on February 18, 2025, and the bridge is not US$9K.
Full Text: Martin K. N. Kollie, a Liberian activist based in exile on Thursday, 20th February, took to his official Facebook account and claimed that Margibi County District #3 Lawmaker decorated a death trap bridge and donated it to the people of Dartu-ta and Mandingo Quarter communities two days ago, which suggests that the bridge was dedicated on Tuesday, February 18, 2025.
He further said that Attoh-Wreh was guilty of allegedly using a US$ 100,000 legislative support project fund to undertake such a substandard project, thus classifying it as a death trap.
The claim was also seen on James Goodday Flomo, a journalist for Spoon FM, an online media outlet.
Flomo claimed on February 20, 2025, via his official Facebook handle that Attoh-Wreh confirmed to residents of her district that she spent US$9,500 on the bridge linking Dartu-ta to Mandingo Quarter communities.
Verification: Contrary to Martin's claim, our research shows that the bridge was dedicated (3:29–10:45) on September 6, 2020, instead of the date Martin claimed.
The dedication ceremony was streamed live on the official Facebook page of FrontPage Africa Newspaper for thirty-eight minutes and twenty-two seconds, a video our team watched until the end.
However, during a special remark at the dedication ceremony, this fact-checker realized that Attoh-Wreh did not give any monetary value or cost of said bridge construction project, contrary to James Samuel Goodday Flomo's claim.
We also gathered that Representative Attoh-Wreh officially broke ground to construct said bridge on March 7, 2020.
We contacted Attoh-Wreh, who denied the claim, questioned Martin's source of information, and cautioned him to do further research before posting something against someone on a public platform.
She clarified that the bridge construction was a quick-impact project completed at her own expense, rather than a legislative support fund, as Kollie claimed.
Attoh-Wreh said that the bridge was intended to alleviate the transportation challenges faced by both communities during that time.
We also saw what was previously used by the community and what was constructed by Attoh-Wreh.
Kollie was contacted twice, but did not respond to our inquiry.
Conclusion: we can safely confirm that activist Kollie and journalist Flomo misled the public. The bridge was not dedicated in February 2025, but rather in September 2020, and the project's cost is unproven as Attoh-Wreh did not attach an amount in the video during the dedication.
By Patrick Moryor (Margibi Fellow)
