Swearing-in of Liberia's Joseph Boakai scrutinised after attendee death

Liberian media speculated Tuesday over the health of the country's new leader Joseph Boakai and the organisation of his inauguration after one man died and the president suffered "heat exhaustion" at the event.

A 48-year-old Liberian man collapsed while watching the ceremony reportedly due to heat exhaustion and he was later confirmed dead at a hospital in Monrovia.

The Chief Medical Officer at JFK Memorial Hospital, Dr Sia Wata Camanor, confirmed to AFP that Dauson Kamara, based in the United States, was eclared "dead on arrival" but did not give further details.

At Monday's event, the 79-year-old President also had to pause and sit down to finish his inaugural address after speaking for more than 30 minutes in front of foreign delegations and local officials outside the parliament.

The scheduled programme for the rest of the ceremony was abruptly cut short because of the incident.

"Heat exhaustion contributed to the few minutes of disruption in his speech but the speech ended successfully and the President was advised by his doctors to come home as a result of that," Amos Tweh, secretary general of Boakai's party, told AFP on Monday.

The President was not taken to hospital and later resumed his "normal presidential duties," Tweh said.

Boakai's age and health are the source of much discussion in the West African nation and his exhaustion on Monday prompted debate in local media and on social networks.

Some claimed the incident showed that Boakai was too old to take office, while others blamed organisers for not providing adequate equipment to cool down guests.

An AFP correspondent at the ceremony, where the temperature was around 29 degrees Celsius (84 degrees Fahrenheit), said the event appeared overcrowded and some guests were left without shade.

Boakai beat former Ballon d'Or winner George Weah in November's run-off poll, with 50.64 percent of the vote to 49.36 percent.

During his speech, the political veteran stressed unity, the fight against corruption, and pledged to improve basic services for Liberians.

He also said his government would explore the possibility of opening a War and Economic Crimes Court (WECC) for "those who bear the greatest responsibility for war crimes and crimes against humanity to account for their actions in court".

Liberia's civil wars, notorious for their brutality and use of child soldiers, left an estimated 250,000 people dead between 1989 and 2003.

Decades later there has been no accountability for war crimes committed in Liberia, despite international and domestic demand.

"We cannot forever remain unmoved by this searing national tragedy without closure," Boakai said.

Story by AFP