— As PUL Admonishes All Actors Use Radio for Public Good –
(February 13, 2025): The Press Union of Liberia (PUL) is pleased to announce the release of journalists Elvis Gono and Philip Gbana.
They were detained for three nights at the Kakata Central Prison.
Their release occurred in the early hours of Thursday, February 13, following a significant intervention by the PUL.
Judge Golda A. Bona Elliot of the 13th Judicial Circuit Court ordered the journalists detained on February 10, 2025, on charges of “Contempt of Court.”
The detention stemmed from a request made by Margibi County Attorney Deddeh Wilson, who stated that the journalists had failed to bring to Court a crime suspect for whom they had acted as guarantors since September 2025.
The PUL intervened after the crime suspect was turned over to the Court and remanded at the Kakata Central Prison.
Upon their release, both Gono of the Liberia Broadcasting System and Gbana of Classic FM expressed their relief but raised serious concerns regarding the validity of their detention.
They characterized the incident as an abuse of judicial power, noting they were never officially contacted to produce the suspect.
“We were taken into custody while covering the opening of the February Term of Court,” stated Gono and Gbana. “This situation raises significant questions about the misuse of authority by judicial officials.”
In light of the conflicting accounts between the journalists and the county judicial officials, the PUL has called for an independent investigation to ascertain the circumstances of the detention.
The Union emphasizes that a thorough inquiry is necessary to determine whether County Attorney Wilson and Public Defender Cllr. Alfred B. Holmes abused public power, or the journalists acted unlawfully.
The PUL strongly advocates for collaboration and mutual respect between the media and the judiciary, stressing the vital importance of professionalism in serving the public interest.
In a related news, On the occasion of World Radio Day today, Thursday, February 13, 2025, the Press Union of Liberia (PUL) has called on all media, public and private actors, to use radio for the public good.
The PUL believes that when used productively, radio can be a powerful, transformative medium for quality information dissemination focused on the public interest.
In remarks at the official celebrations of World Radio Day, PUL President Julius Kanubah emphasized that radio remains one of the most dependable and widely utilized forms of media, serving as a beacon of hope for many people in Liberia and across the world.
Kanubah pointed out that radio is a vital tool for social, political, and economic accountability, not least because it is a device for disseminating information on climate change and its effects.
As the bulwarks of the radio, the PUL President admonished journalists to exercise the highest degree of integrity and professionalism by reporting and providing analyses on the radio with strict adherence to ethical principles of accurate, balanced, and credible journalism.
This year’s World Radio Day is being celebrated globally on the theme “Radio and Climate Change” in recognition of how radio serves as a tool for adapting to and mitigating the effects of climate disruption in a rapidly changing world.
In Liberia, the Association of Liberian Community Radio (ALICOR), an institutional constituent member of the PUL, organized the World Radio Day celebrations, bringing together journalists, civil society, and government actors.
As the largest umbrella grouping of Liberian journalists, media, and communication professionals, the PUL remains unwavering in its leadership in guiding the use of radio through quality, impactful journalism.
