President Joseph Boakai's partial fulfillment of his $2 million pledge to the Office of War and Economic Crimes Court is a welcome step, but still not enough. Liberia's fragile pursuit of justice cannot depend on scattered funding and missed deadlines. With only $300,000, just 15 percent of the projected 2025 budget, the administration risks turning a historic chance for accountability into yet another false start.
This is not just about numbers on a ledger. It's about whether Liberia is genuinely committed to the victims and survivors of its brutal civil wars. It's about whether the promise of "Never Again" is real or rhetorical. And it's about whether the Boakai administration is willing to back its words with the resources needed to investigate and prosecute war crimes and economic crimes that continue to undermine our national dignity and stability.
Cllr. Jallah Barbu, the executive director of the Office, was candid in revealing how severe the situation has become. After exhausting the $368,000 allocated earlier this year, his office went seven months unpaid. Staff morale waned. Operations stalled. A national outreach campaign aimed at engaging the public and combating misinformation about the proposed War and Economic Crimes Court was nearly derailed before it could begin. The latest $300,000 infusion is a temporary bandage, not a cure.
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President Boakai deserves credit for extending the Office's mandate and for issuing an executive order that many transitional justice advocates hailed as a breakthrough. But that credit is conditional. Symbolism is not justice. Speeches and signed papers are not justice. Funding is justice. And justice delayed due to inadequate funding is justice denied.
The Truth and Reconciliation Commission's 2009 report made it clear that Liberia needs a reckoning. It recommended prosecutions, national apologies, memorials, and reforms. Boakai has made progress, issuing apologies and pledging holidays of remembrance. But without sustained funding, the court risks being reduced to a ceremonial gesture, not a credible institution.
Barbu is now preparing to travel to Abuja to meet with the president of ECOWAS, a crucial step, given Liberia's need for regional backing to establish a functioning hybrid court. But ECOWAS will not support a justice mechanism that is under-resourced and politically unsupported. If Liberia cannot fully fund its own transitional justice office, why should others invest their faith or their funds in us?
Outgoing U.S. Ambassador Mark Toner and justice advocates like Hassan Bility have all sounded the alarm: this process must be funded or forfeited. Bility, whose Global Justice and Research Project has worked tirelessly alongside European investigators, rightly called the $300,000 a "drop in the ocean." His challenge to President Boakai and lawmakers is timely and profound: to strip away some of the bloated benefits, travel budgets, and unnecessary allowances. Prioritize justice over comfort. History is watching.
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If Liberia's leaders fail to rise to this moment, they will be remembered not for the promises they made, but for the justice they refused to fund.
Boakai's defenders argue that the president takes this initiative "very, very seriously." If that is true, it must be demonstrated in the subsequent quarterly disbursement. The Office must receive the remaining $1.7 million without delay. This is not charity; it's a national obligation.
To the Liberian public: stay vigilant. Demand that your lawmakers and president prioritize the country over personal perks. Insist that justice is not just a talking point, but a funded reality.
Because when we underfund justice, we fund impunity. And that is a price Liberia can no longer afford.
