In keeping with section 5.1 (d) of the 2022 Act that reestablished the Liberia's Anti-Corruption Commission (LACC), about 12 officials of the Weah's administration have been indicted to answer to the Crimes of Economic Sabotage, Theft of Property, Tempering with Public Records, Criminal Felicitation and Criminal Conspiracy.
The indictees include, Dr. Augustine N. Fannieh, County Health Officer, Leroy Dorwazia, County Administrator, DornuuHorace, County Procurement Officer, William Johnson, County Logistics Officer, Roland Reeves, County Finance Officer, All of the Margibi County Health Team.
Others are, Ernest Flahn, County Logistics Officer, Thomas M. Bonard, County Diagnostics Officer, Barkolleh Kollie, General Manager M.J.K. Business Center, Vamuyan Traore, General Manager, Biomedical Link, A. Mohammed Dunor, General Manager, M.D. Capital Reliable Link, Odoshall Oldpa Kanue, General Manager, God's Willing Inc. and Momo K. Miller, General Manager, Children Father Business.
They were jointly and severally charged to answer to the above crimes which grew out of Financial Improprieties and Kickbacks by Officials of the Margibi County Health Team (MCHT), in the tone of US$188,978.86 from the USAID-funded project intended to improve the Health Care Delivery service of citizens of Margibi County.
On April 14th, 2022, the LACC lifted a story from FrontPage Africa Online News Outlet Captioned, "US$1.1million of donor funds wasted/mismanaged by the Ministry of Health.
According to the news outlet, the Liberia Coordinating Mechanism (LCM) at the Ministry of Health acknowledged the investigative report published on April 8, 2022, by the Office of the Inspector General (OIG).
The report released by the OIG highlights systemic fraud andmisappropriation by the Ministry of Health, a principal recipient of the Global Fund Grants, and recommends that robust actions be taken by the Government of Liberia.
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Consequently, the Liberia Anti-Corruption Commission immediately utilized the open source, obtained the investigative report, and launched a full-scale investigation.
As of Friday, March 8, 2024, two of the defendants in persons of Mr. Leroy Dorwarzia and William Johnson were arrested and the indictment was served on them.
Law enforcement officers are currently making efforts to have the indictment serve on the rest of the defendants. Meanwhile, all the above defendants are to be tried during the May A. D. 2024 Term of Court.
The commission is quoted in a release dated March 11, 2024,saying, "We commend the hard work and dedication of our investigative team as well as the astute lawyers of the LACC who led this process to prosecution. We also laud the cooperation and support of our partners in law enforcement and the judiciary, whose collaboration has been instrumental in bringing these indictments forward."
The LACC assured the public that the Commission remains steadfast in its commitment to combatting corruption and ensuring accountability at all levels of society. Corruption undermines the foundations of justice, fairness, and equitable governance, and as such, we are resolute in our pursuit of justice.
"As we proceed with the upcoming trial, we reaffirm our dedication to upholding the rule of law and holding accountable those who seek to undermine it for personal gains."
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