Monrovia — Senator Prince Johnson has criticized former President George Manneh Weah for coming in strong defense of his ex-public officials accused and indicted for corruption by the Unity Party (UP) led-government of President Joseph Nyuma Boakai.
For days now, the ruling Unity Party of President Joseph Nyuma Boakai has either suspended or issued indictments against former officials of the Weah led-administration, including Central Bank of Liberia (CBL) Executive Governor Aloysius Tarlue, former Finance and Development Planning Minister Samuel Tweah, Stanley Ford of the Financial Intelligence Agency (FIA) and National Security Advisor Jefferson Karmoh for alleged acts of corruption.
However, the ex-Liberian president has termed the Boakai-led administration's action as a "witch-hunt" intended to cause instability in the country.
But speaking when he participated on the Morning Show on Bana FM 98.5 on Monday, August 5, the Nimba County senator said Mr. Weah must muster the courage to now encourage his accused ex-public officials, many of whom are his closest allies, to make themselves available and answer to corruption charges levied against them in the court.
He rejected claims being made by Mr. Weah and his supporters that President Boakai and his government is witch-hunting or targeting his former government officials.
'Advice ignored'
Senator Johnson, as political leader of the Movement for Democracy and Reconstruction (MDR), was one of those who pledged support and canvassed to ensure the election of Mr. Weah during the 2017 general and presidential elections.
However, the pair broke ranks prior to the conduct of the October 2023 general and presidential elections which brought Mr. Weah to power.
He pointed out that following the ascendancy of Mr. Weah to the presidency, he (Johnson) requested the ex-Liberian leader to conduct an audit of his predecessor Madam Ellen Johnson-Sirleaf.
The matter was also elevated to the Liberian Senate by the Nimba County lawmaker following conflicting accounts provided by former Presidents Ellen Johnson-Sirleaf and Weah. But investigation into the matter didn't suffer back on the floor of the Senate until the departure of Mr. Weah from the presidency.
Senator Johnson, however, observed that Mr. Weah failed to conduct an audit, something which made him (Johnson) to let it go for fear of "falling in trouble" with his former political ally (Weah).
He stressed that though former President Weah failed to audit the Sirleaf led-government, he should not see the move being made by his successor President Joseph Nyuma Boakai to hold accountable his former public officials as a witch-hunt.
He maintained that the CDC Political Leader should be calling for the accused individuals to exonerate themselves in court if he knows fully that they have not committed any of the crimes levied against them by the Boakai-administration.
"After Weah's inauguration, the press asked me what is the next step now? And I said we need to inform the Liberian people exactly what Madam Sirleaf's outgoing government left for us to operate with and besides that, we should do an audit of the outgoing government. Two days after the inauguration when I had the press conference, I went to see former President Weah at his house and I reiterated to him that we need to do an audit and also let the people of Liberia know exactly what was left in the coffers. This is how it should be"
"In short, what we should have done and we did not do, is exactly what the Unity Party under President Boakai is doing. Is that witch-hunting? I don't think so. If we had not siphoned the people money from the national coffers; if we had not massively looted the coffers, then I think (former) President Weah, my in-law and former President, should encourage his former officials to appear before the court since they have been indicted to answer for whatever led to the indictment."
'Not witch-hunt'
Senator Johnson emphasized that Mr. Weah should be calling for the law to take its course in the matter, instead of holding press conferences to call the present government all sorts of names.
He stressed that the commencement of the indictment and prosecution of former public officials accused of corruption from the immediate past government of Mr. Weah does not in any way matter or amounts to witch-hunt.
"The audit reports are there; it doesn't matter which one is coming first. Let's watch and see. They are starting with the ones before them now-after these ones, let's see what happens next. Let's see what the government will do. That's the way I think it should be."
Senator Johnson justified that former President Weah was supposed to audit the former UP led-administration which democratically turned over power to him in 2017 instead of grading it a passing mark during his presidency.
He emphasized that the ex-Liberian leader cannot hold the present administration liable for doing what he failed to do in the past, noting that, "what you failed to do is what they are doing to you; so, what's the big deal? Just be patient and let them go to the court and clear themselves. These audit reports are not just from President Boakai's time (tenure); it was there before."
The audit and investigative reports being acted upon by the UP led-government were done during the administration of former President Weah.
On Friday, August 2, three former officials of Weah's Government, recently imprisoned at the Monrovia Central Prison were released on bail.
Resident Circuit Court Judge, Roosevelt Willie, granted the defendants their bonds after an intervention by their lawyers.
Former Solicitor General, Cllr. Nyenati Tuan, the former FIU Comptroller D. Moses P. Cooper, Former Finance Minister Samuel D. Tweah, former Director General of the Financial Intelligence Agency (FIA), Stanley Ford, and Jefferson Karmoh, former National Security Advisor to President George Weah were issued a writ of arrest for charges of Economic Sabotage, Theft, and/or Illegal Disbursement and Expenditure of Public Money, Theft of Property, Criminal Facilitation and Criminal Conspiracy based upon a complaint by the Government of Liberia, through the Ministry of Justice and the Liberia Anti-Corruption Commission (LACC).
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It's alleged that in September of the same year, the defendants all carried out their scheme under the pretense of discharging their duties as officials of the Joint Security of Liberia, unauthorizedly, criminally, willfully, illegally, knowingly, and maliciously, with the intent of diverting said amount for their use and benefit, and did conspire, collude, and made to be transferred, from the Central Bank of Liberia (CBL) to the operational accounts of thin e FIA the amounts of L$l,055, 1 52,540.00 and in the tone of US$500,000.00. (USD Five HundredsThousands).
They were arrested on Monday, July 29, following a writ of arrest from the court and sent to prison after failing to present a criminal appearance bond.
Former Finance Minister Samuel D. Tweah and former Director General of the Financial Intelligence Agency (FIA), Stanley Ford are yet to be seen since the arrest warrant was issued, until a criminal insurance bond was filed by legal counsel representing all of the defendants.
FrontPageAfrica has gathered that the defendants managed to obtain a criminal insurance bond from the Sky International Insurance Company in Monrovia, a sum of US$12,000,000.00 (Twelve Million United States Dollars).
