Monrovia — January's news that authorities had seized a container of machine guns and other weapons at Monrovia's port sent shock waves through the country. The first known illegal importation of guns since the end of the civil war in 2003 came as violent crime has ticked up, adding to a growing sense of insecurity for many Liberians as October's presidential election approaches.
A second container destined for Liberia was discovered and impounded in the United States and, of more concern, police claim to have found arms at the Monrovia house of the alleged importer Boye Benjamin, a resident of Texas in the United States. That discovery leaves open the possibility that some imports have escaped law enforcement's net. At a press conference in January Col. Patrick Sudue, Police Inspector General, said the seized weapons "were sufficient to destabilize the country." Public concern has not been helped by the fact that law enforcement has given no update since the seizure.
An FPA/New Narratives investigation failed to turn up any information on Baker. Texas public court records have no record of someone with that name appearing in the court system. In Liberia the focus has been on two women who were named as recipients of the container.
According to Prince Mulbah, Deputy Inspector General of the Liberian National Police, Barbara Debah has been receiving boxes from Baker for some time but did not know the boxes contained weapons.
"Barbara agreed to receive his boxes, but he told her only the ones that had her name should she open and that was exactly what she said she did," said Mulbah. "Even the boxes that we seized from the port all had seals on them. From our preliminary investigation Barbara did not know what was contained in the boxes."
Deputy Inspector Mulbah confirmed that Baker has not been arrested. "No, Baker has not yet been arrested. The Ministry of Foreign Affairs is in the process of communicating with the United States for extradition. That's where we are."
Debah herself has failed to make several agreed appointments with FPA/New Narratives. Her lawyer Atty. Martin Colorno said his client and the alleged gun smuggler connected through the internet but that his client was deceived by Baker.
"She told us that she doesn't know anything," said Colorno. "She started doing some work for the guy here and when he saw her honesty he would just ship things to her and she would just take them as they came and place them at his house, not opening them."
Colorno said his client has been called for questioning four times by police. He said Debah regrets her interactions with Baker that have put her at risk of arrest. He doubts the police have evidence to charge her.
"For the police to indict my client, they have to prove substantially that she is aware of what has been going on with Mr. Baker," said Colorno.
The second woman of interest in the case Melvina Kpan, a broker at the Freeport of Monrovia, also broke an engagement with FPA/New Narratives and has not responded to calls and texts.
Widespread speculation - so far based on no evidence - has pointed the blame for importation on high-ranking members of the Weah government. That has fueled skepticism that government will pursue the investigation fairly. Atty. Maxwell Grigsby, Liberia National Arms Commission's chairperson, insisted those responsible for the importation would be held to account regardless of their position in government.
"Whoever within the framework of the government or security architecture is involved with the smuggling, we will do the unlikely." Grigsby vowed that they would expose "any big name" that may be connected with the smuggled guns. He assured the public evidence would be protected.
"We know this is a fruit of a crime that is for prosecution either here in Liberia or in the U.S. and we take a specific interest in ensuring that this evidence is not tampered with," he said.
The biggest obstacle for Liberian investigators could be extraditing Baker to Liberia. The U.S. government has denied repeated requests for US-based Liberians to be extradited to face charges. All - from President Samuel Doe's request to have coup-plotter Charles Taylor extradited to Ellen Johnson Sirleaf's request for the return of airport chief Ellen Cockrum - have been denied.
Cllr. Tiawon Gongoloe, former Solicitor General and current presidential candidate, doubts the U.S. would agree to send a lawful resident or citizen to face justice in Liberia's dysfunctional justice system. Either way, he said, the U.S. is better placed to undertake the investigation.
"The United States has better capabilities in terms of personnel and equipment to investigate and get to the facts and they can track the evidence so that there is no way for an accused person to say they did not do it," Gongloe said in an interview. "It is possible to know what conversations went on, what text messages or emails were exchanged. It is just so easy to conclude a matter of hours to know how the arms left the United States and got here, what it was intended for."
Cllr. Gongoloe acknowledged the fragility of Liberia's security sector, but joined others who hold the belief that the alarm being raised by the Weah government about the seizure of a huge consignment of arms and ammunition could be "meant to buy public sentiment" ahead of elections. "This idea of governments arranging things and creating the impression that people want to overthrow the government are dramas that have been performed before to create sympathy for the presidency, but it should be easy in today's world for the police to find the facts," Gongloe said.
If the weapons were part of a coup plot, it would not be the first time the US or Europe were used to plan a coup on African soil according to Peter Zazay, a former top former official of the Liberian National Police and the Immigration Service. Zazay, now a director at the Independent National Human Rights Commission, said that made it hard for people in Africa to get justice.
"How did it travel by sea from America?" Zazay asked. He is skeptical that global intelligence agencies could have been unaware of a huge consignment of weapons coming to Liberia. But he was unable to provide evidence of his assertions. Zazay shares Gongloe's skepticism that Baker will be brought to Liberia to face justice.
A the time of the seizure US Ambassador Michael McCarthy insisted that that the US government would pursue justice in the case.
"Let me also make it crystal clear that any person hoping to destabilize Liberia by sending weapons illegally from the United States will meet the full force of law enforcement on that side of the Atlantic," McCarthy said. "Let all who wish to destabilize the country with threats of violence and intimidation understand that a better Liberia lies at the end of open discourse, respectful debate, and free, fair, transparent, and peaceful elections. Shortcuts will never work."
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Grigsby confirmed to FrontPage Africa/New Narratives that Baker did not obtain the necessary clearance for the importation of any arms and ammunition to Liberia. The Firearms and Ammunition Control Act of 2015 prohibits the illicit importation, manufacture and exportation of conventional arms. Anyone found guilty of a violation faces twenty years in prison.
According to Atty. Grigsby the second container has been impounded in the U.S. where it is being investigated by US authorities. He did not say whether or not the second container contained arms and ammunition. The seized weapons in Liberia have been retained by the LNP.
In the absence of any update from authorities, rumors are taking hold. Liberians have been left wondering who could be seeking to use these weapons and for what reasons. And how confident are Liberian security apparatus that all weapons have been seized? Citizens interviewed by FPA/NN said they feared this investigation would go the way of many other high-profile investigations launched by the Weah administration that have never been heard from again.
"I was here throughout the war so every time I hear about arms or even hear the sounds of guns, it scares me and carries my mind back to the war," said 51-year-old jobless single mother Linda Eden Kamokai in an interview in Paynesville. "The news of the government discovering huge guns is nothing to take for a joke now."
This story was a collaboration with New Narratives as part of the Investigating Liberia project. Funding was provided by the Swedish Embassy in Monrovia. The funder had no say in the story.
Evelyn Kpadeh Seagbeh With New Narratives
