Former President George Weah reacts to the arrest and indictment of several of his key former officials here, including indefinite suspension of the executive governor of the Central Bank of Liberia, vowing to use both political and legal means to resist strongly.
Those arrested included Mr. Weah's security advisor, Jefferson Karmoh, former Acting Justice Minister Cllr. Nyenati Tuan, former Financial Intelligence Agency Director Stanley S. Ford, and former Comptroller of the FIA, D. Moses P. Cooper. Former Finance Minister Samuel Tweah remains at large.
The current Executive Governor of the Central Bank, Aloysius Tarlue, has been suspended with immediate effect after a compliance audit commissioned by the Boakai Administration implicates them in the withdrawal and disbursement of millions of dollars from the Government of Liberia's Consolidated Account at the CBL, outside of compliance procedures and policies.
But Mr. Weah terms the arrest of his officials as a witch-hunt, saying that the government of President Boakai has weaponized the judiciary to go after former officials.
In a statement read here on Wednesday, 31st July, the former president further lamented that on Monday, July 29, 2024, the government ordered heavily armed security personnel to carry out series of unlawful detentions of some former officials, which he described as clearly a political move intended to target his ex-ruling Congress for Democratic Change (CDC) and the larger opposition community in the country.
"Those detained include 4 former members of the National Security Council.
The action was taken void of an indictment by a grand jury. This is the latest transgression of the Boakai Administration in their callous attempt to undermine the state's rule of law and security", he says.
Mr. Weah continues that even as late as Tuesday, July 30th, President Boakai again showed the nation that he does not respect the rule of law when he sought to illegally remove the Governor of the Central Bank of Liberia in clear violation of the act that created said institution.
"The Unity Party can be assured that the CDC will use all legal and political means to resist this move to weaponize the country's judicial system to its selfish advantage. Yes, Mr. Boakai, your actions to politicize justice will be resisted strongly."
However, President Boakai's government rejects the allegation of a witch-hunt, maintaining that it has sufficient evidence to prove its charges against the accused in court.
At the same time, Weah notes that the ruling Unity Party-led government chose to ignore legal and constitutional reliance and available evidence and pursue reckless measures, reminding that these antics have only brought about disorder and confusion in Liberia's recent history.
"The national security laws of the country," Weah argues, "plainly stipulates the measures that must be taken to safeguard public order," and that in a post-conflict nation such as Liberia, it becomes an even more challenging task, adding, "Intelligence gathering and operations the world over have always been of prime concern and pre-eminence, requiring authorities to exert extra efforts and resources to preserve peace and security."
Former finance minister Samuel Tweah is among more than seven former officials from the Weah Administration who the United States Treasury sanctioned for public corruption.
But the ex-president maintains that the CDC-led administration he headed remains proud of its record, outlining that they preserved the country's peace, security, and welfare even during the raging COVID-19 pandemic and even when the security of the state was at stake.
"I am also deeply proud of my record as President, particularly my unwavering respect for the rule of law and my relentless fight against corruption. You may recall that during my presidency, we advanced the fight against corruption on many fronts, including granting the Liberian Anti-Corruption Commission (LACC) direct prosecutorial powers, which is critical to the fight against corruption. To sustain and further advance this fight, we should not allow anyone to erode the gains we have made.
He recommends that the LACC treat all audit reports from the General Auditing Commission (GAC) equally, without cherry-picking, to ensure fairness and transparency and utilize its new powers effectively to fight corruption.
He argues that "Skipping previous GAC audit reports "and cherry-picking to target only officials of my administration undermines the fight against corruption, and the Liberian people must see such a move as a weaponization of the LACC to witch-hunt officials of my administration.
According to him, the government's latest move is intended to divert public attention from the nation's lingering economic crisis and the alleged uncovering of the government's use of public funds from the Central Bank to bail out a private bank that the ruling Unity Party used to finance its campaign.
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"It also comes against several instances of disregard of the country's procurement laws, thereby committing the country to hundreds of millions of dollars and the daylight robbery of $22 million under the guise of road rehabilitation, among other glaring acts of corruption."
Mr. Weah is making reference to 285 pieces of earth-moving equipment the current administration negotiated for abroad and brought into the country without knowledge of the 55th Legislature and outside of government procurement policy.
"Suddenly," Weah notes, "officials who once gained notoriety for public theft now want us to believe they have transformed into referees of good governance."
He discloses plan to engage ECOWAS leaders, whose countries have given blood and tears to the attainment and sustenance of peace and security in Liberia, and notify other international partners of the alleged plan by the UP Administration to capture the political system in its favor.
"I want to assure all that the CDC remains a party of law and order and will bring its full and immense political resources to bear to stop the Unity Party in its tracks," President Weah concludes. Story by Jonathan Browne
