The first casualty of power, it is said, is principle. In Liberia, that casualty is now showing up in court dockets and jail rosters.
Few cases illustrate this better than that of Abdullah Kamara. A Unity Party ally and former head of TAMMA Corporation, Mr Kamara was named in a 2024 audit by the General Auditing Commission that revealed startling financial irregularities. Over L$262 million and US$450,000 were disbursed to TAMMA and 231 Data Incorporated under the Liberia Digital Transformation Project, with no contracts, procurement records, or evidence of completed work. Even more troubling, Mr Kamara was a signatory to the account from which these funds flowed.
At the time, Mr Kamara was not just a contractor; he was a signatory to the project account itself. Even the most charitable reading of the GAC report raised obvious questions of conflict of interest and procedural malpractice. Yet instead of facing an investigation, Mr Kamara was promoted to Acting Chairman of the LTA, replacing the very board suspended over the scandal in the first place.
That appointment, remarkable in its audacity, sparked public outrage. Critics called it a betrayal of the administration's anti-corruption rhetoric; others described it more bluntly--as institutionalised impunity. Only months later, and under growing pressure from civil society and the media, did President Boakai suspend Mr Kamara "for administrative reasons." But the government's reluctance to act swiftly spoke volumes.
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Even more striking was the decision of the Montserrado County Grand Jury to exonerate Mr Kamara entirely. The same audit that implicated his company and documented his role in the disbursements somehow failed, in the eyes of the court, to meet the standard for indictment. Instead, the legal system redirected its focus to former LTA Chair Edwina Zarkpah, who was accused of authorising a US$54,000 payment to TAMMA Corporation without a contract--a sum modest compared to the larger cash flows the audit revealed.
If this appeared to many Liberians as selective exoneration, subsequent events offered little reassurance.
In early June, five lawmakers were charged with arson in connection with a fire that engulfed part of the Capitol Building in December 2024. One of them, Priscilla Cooper--another Unity Party lawmaker--was quietly released on medical grounds mere hours after her arrest. The remaining four, all from opposition parties, were paraded into court the next day and remanded to Monrovia Central Prison. One of them, Abu Kamara, filed a similar appeal on medical grounds, citing high blood pressure. It was denied.
No explanation was offered. None, apparently, was necessary.
Taken alone, these decisions may seem like procedural quirks. But taken together, they suggest a broader trend: that the wheels of justice in Liberia now turn more swiftly for some than others, and often not at all for those aligned with the ruling party.
This is not about guilt or innocence. Both Kamara and Cooper may yet have defensible cases. What is in question is the evenness of process, the neutrality of the judiciary, and the perception--growing ever stronger--that political allegiance shields some from scrutiny while exposing others to its harshest edge.
This is not new in Liberia. But it is newly brazen.
President Joseph Boakai rode into office on a wave of anti-corruption rhetoric, promising a reset after years of what many saw as permissiveness under the Weah administration. Yet the early months of his tenure have been marked by the same old tolerances--favouring allies, rewarding insiders, and meting out justice in shades of partisanship.
The courts, too, have questions to answer. The credibility of any democracy rests in part on the independence of its judiciary. Where that is compromised--whether by political pressure, personal ties, or quiet deference--the rule of law becomes something else entirely: a tool of convenience.
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There is still time to correct course. The President must do more than suspend compromised officials after public outcry; he must proactively ensure that all public servants, regardless of political loyalty, are held to the same standard. The Liberia Anti-Corruption Commission must be empowered to pursue its investigations freely. The courts must be protected--not quietly influenced. And civil society, though weary, must remain relentless.
Liberia has emerged from worse. But the republic will not withstand a justice system that asks first: "Whose side are you on?"
The Liberian Investigator
In Pursuit of Truth and Integrity
