Bility Says Corruption Fight Must Be Beyond Politics -Says UP Govt.’s Silence on ‘Sacred Cows’ Smells Foul

MONROVIA – A quick glimpse at what’s amounting to a wave of arrests, investigations and summary confinements and would-be prosecutions of individuals deemed corrupt by the Boakai administration looks like an unprecedented and welcoming move to fight public corruption, which former President Sirleaf once called public enemy number one. But pundits say a closer and deeper look sees something else: a farce to disguise and unleash vendetta against political opponents. Ever-alert Nimba County lawmaker Musa Hassan Bility is sensing something sinister, and is rising the alarm. The Analyst reports.        

Taking cue from ongoing investigation surrounding the rice donation from the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, Nimba County District #7 lawmaker Musa Hassan Bility has said what began as a promising anti-corruption initiative is now dangerously drifting toward selective prosecution, and, if not immediately corrected, will be perceived as political persecution.

Bility said in a statement that he is “deeply alarmed that while junior officials and some senior members of the past administration have been swiftly arrested and detained over allegations surrounding the Saudi rice, there is credible evidence pointing to the involvement of senior officials currently serving in this government, evidence that has been deliberately ignored”.

According to him, the current officials are alleged to have received a significant portion of the donated rice, yet not only have they not been arrested, they haven’t even been questioned.

“This blatant disregard of available evidence undermines the credibility of the entire anti-corruption drive,” the lawmaker said, recalling that when the initial arrests were made, many Liberians saw hope; “it appeared we had finally entered a new era, one in which public officials, regardless of rank or connections, would be held accountable.”

Bility said it seems “hope is now giving way to suspicion,” indicating that if the Boakai government truly intends to build a credible legacy of transparency, then the fight against corruption must not be waged only against the past.

“It must confront the present with equal resolve. No official, past or present, should be shielded from scrutiny,” he said, adding, “The government’s continued silence and inaction in the face of documented evidence implicating its own officials is not only unjust, it is dangerous. It suggests that this campaign may be less about recovering stolen assets and more about targeting perceived enemies. This is not justice. This is not reform. This is a witch hunt.”

He said he had long held the belief that public service is inseparable from public accountability, and that anyone who chooses to serve the people must also accept that a day will come when they must answer for their stewardship.

“On that note, I welcome the government’s decision to investigate and prosecute former public officials. This is how a functioning democracy should operate, no one is above the law,” the Political Leader of the Citizens Movement for Change asserted.

He added: “If previous governments chose to turn a blind eye to the conduct of their predecessors, then it was unfortunate and deeply regrettable. But if this government has decided to chart a new course, one anchored in transparency and accountability, it is indeed a commendable step in the right direction.”

He said the nation is at crossroads, because “if the government continues down this path, the anti-corruption drive will lose all credibility, and the hopes of the Liberian people for genuine accountability will be betrayed once again”.

The House of Representatives member called on the Ministry of Justice, the Assets Recovery and Confiscation Team, and all relevant authorities to act swiftly and impartially. The law must be blind. The process must be fair. The outcome must be just.

“Let us not turn a moment of promise into a monument of hypocrisy. Liberia deserves better,” his statement concluded.