MONROVIA – From the look of things, this second political advent of the Unity Party may not sail over silver platter; one sign being that the standard bearer of the biggest opposition party doesn’t seem to be, nor sound like the that lukewarm, apolitical and ‘mere peace ambassador’ that he was in his first 12 years of opposition life. And with half of the population lining behind him, evidenced by the last elections he lost, George Manneh Weah is posturing quite politically and militantly both in his rhetoric and in his timing of interventions. Yesterday, July 31, 2024, while responding to Government’s arrest, charging and jailing of dominantly former officials of his administration, Weah sounded unusually bellicose, measured and authoritative, and there is reason for the nation to brace itself for possible showdown. The Analyst reports.
Former President George Manneh Weah has accused the Unity Party government of what he called the “execution of their evil plans,” by the UP which he said has chosen to “ignore legal and constitutional reliance, available evidence, and pursue reckless measures.”
He warned that these antics by the governing party only promise disorder and confusion in the country.
Speaking Wednesday, July 31, 2024, and flanked by a crowd of bigwigs of his Coalition for Democratic Change, including lawmakers, Weah said “for the UP administration to exploit our legal system and risk fomenting chaos, it tells you to what extent some politicians are willing to go just to maintain power.”
This is exactly the path that the CDC sought not to tread when it maintained the stability of the country against all odds, while spearheading a peaceful transition of power to President Boakai in spite of a hard-fought and close election.
The CDC Standard-bearer’s statement came in response to the rounding up of several former officials of his administration by the Monrovia City Court on petitions from the Ministry of Justice and the Liberia Anti-Corruption Commission.
On Tuesday, the City Court of Monrovia ordered Court Sheriffs to execute writs of arrests on the former CDC officials.
The writs read: “You are hereby commanded to arrest the living bodies of Samuel D. Tweah, former Minister of Finance and Development Planning (MFDP), Cllr. Nyenati Tuan, former Acting Minister of Justice, Stanley S. Ford, former Director General of the Financial Intelligence Agency (FIA), D. Moses P. Cooper, former Comptroller of the Financial Intelligence Agency, and Jefferson Karmoh, former National Security Advisor, and forthwith bring them to the Monrovia City Court, Temple of Justice Building, Montserrado County to answer the charges of Economic Sabotage, Theft and/or Illegal Disbursement and Expenditure of Public Money, Theft of Property, Criminal Facilitation and Criminal Conspiracy based upon the oath and complaint of the Republic ofLiberia by and thru the Ministry of Justice and the Liberia Anti-Corruption Commission (LACC), Plaintiff, in which it is substantially alleged as follows to wit:
“That in an elaborate scheme and conspiracy to defraud the Government of Liberia, in July 2023, Defendants conspired with Co-Defendant Stanley S. Ford, and made him a member of the National Security Council of Liberia, in total violation and contravention of the National Security Act of Liberia. Subsequently thereafter, at various times in September, 2023, the Defendants, in carrying out their diabolical scheme and conspiracy and under the false pretense of discharging their duties as officials of the Joint Security of Liberia, unauthorizedly, criminally, willfully, illegally, knowingly and maliciously, with the intent to defraud the Government of Liberia, stole and converted to their own use and benefit and did conspire, collude and made to be transferred, from the Central Bank of Liberia (CBL) to the of L$1,055,1 52, 540 the amounts of the FIA US$5,000, 000.00 million”
The Court further added: “The amounts ofL$1,055,145,040 and US$5,000, 000.00 million were subsequently withdrawn either on the same day of the transfers or days thereafter, without any indication or record of how the amounts were disbursed or utilized by the Joint Security of Liberia, in complete and total violations of the New Penal Law of Liberia.
“The alleged act of the Defendants being unlawful, wicked, illegal and intentional is a violation of the New Penal Law of Liberia, there and then the crimes herein the Defendants did do and commit. Hence, this writ of arrest.”
Resisting Weaponizing Judicial System
In his respond to the Government’s action, the former president said the Unity Party can be assured that the CDC would use all legal and political means at its disposal 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 and resisted strongly,” he said.
Weah also noted that the political detentions of CDC officials have shown the lack of foresight and total disregard on the part of Boakai and his confidantes, caring less about the consequences of their actions, insofar as it serves their narrow political interests.
He said the action was taken void of any indictment by a grand jury, in what he called “the latest transgression of the Boakai Administration in their callous attempt to undermine the rule of law and security of the state”.
According to him, the national security laws of the country plainly stipulate the measures that must be taken to safeguard public order.
“In a post-conflict nation such as ours, it becomes an even more challenging task. 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,” he divulged.
Pointing the contrast between his administration, and Boakai’s, Weah noted that the CDC-led administration remains proud of its record.
“We preserved the peace, security, and welfare of the country even during the raging Covid-19 pandemic, and at times when the security of the state was at stake,” he added. “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 gains we have made.”
Conversely, Weah said, Boakai has been weaponizing the new powers of the LACC and called the LACC to treat all audit reports from the General Auditing Commission (GAC) equally, without cherry-picking, to ensure fairness and transparency.
“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,” he asserted further.
Weah recalled how he championed peace and stability, from advocating for a ceasefire during the civil war to leading disarmament efforts to bring peace, serving as a peace ambassador, and, most recently, conceding in the 2023 runoff election even before the pronouncement of final results.
“You can attest to my selfless and unwavering commitment to the peace, stability and the betterment of pour country,” he added. “Sadly, it seems that the Boakai administration is interpreting our commitment to the peace and stability of our country as a weakness, and therefore keen on disturbing the peace by weaponizing key government functionaries to witch-hunt officials of the past government.”
Boakai administration’s missteps
Weah said instead of president Boakai to uphold the peace and stability of the country, his administration was involved with a horde of troubling missteps, including the harassment and removal of civil servants from the system based purely along party lines, the excessive use of force against citizens results in several deaths and the non prosecution of Election-related deaths that occurred on camera.
He also recounted the Boakai administration’s the total disregard for the tenure laws of the country even in the face of the Liberia Supreme Court’s rulings, its broad day violations of the procurement laws of the country and the disgraced and denial of benefits of duly commissioned Foreign Service officials.
“Even as late as yesterday, the President again showed to the nation that he is not a man who 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 creating said institution,” Weah alarmed, vowing to continue to engage with ECOWAS leaders, “whose countries have given blood and tears to the attainment and sustenance of peace and security in Liberia, while notifying other international partners of this plan by the UP to capture the political system in its favor.”
“Fellow Liberians, our country has enjoyed peace and stability for over 20 years, and the people deserve perpetual peace and stability. Therefore, the Liberian people must resist any attempt by the Boakai administration to disturb peace,” the former Liberian leader emphasized. SEE FULL TEXT OF FORMER PRESIDENT WEAH’S STATEMENT BELOW.
STATEMENT BY H.E. GEORGE MANNEH WEAH
FORMER PRESIDENT OF THE REPUBLIC OF LIBERIA
AND STANDARD BEARER
COALITION FOR DEMOCRATIC CHANGE
July 30, 2024
Monrovia, Liberia
My fellow Liberians,
On Monday July 29, 2024, the Unity Party Administration ordered heavily armed security personnel to carry out a series of unlawful detentions of some former officials of government, in what is clearly a political move intended to target the Coalition for Democratic Change (CDC) and the wider opposition community.
Those detained include 4 former members of the National Security Council. The action was taken void of any indictment by a grand jury. This is the latest transgression of the Boakai Administration in their callous attempt to undermine the rule of law and security of the state.
Some of the open and deliberate acts being carried out by the UP administration include:
- The harassment and removal of civil servants from the system based purely along party lines
- The excessive use of force against citizens results in several deaths
- The non-prosecution of Election-related deaths that occurred on camera
- The total disregard for the tenure laws of the country even in the face of the Liberia Supreme Court’s rulings
- The broad day violations of the procurement laws of the country
- The disgraced and denial of benefits of duly commissioned Foreign Service officials
Even as late as yesterday, the President again showed to the nation that he is not a man who 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 creating said institution.
The Unity Party can be assured that the CDC will use all legal and political means at its disposal 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 and resisted strongly.
The Unity Party government, in the execution of their evil plans, choose to ignore legal and constitutional reliance, available evidence, and pursue reckless measures. The Unity Party must be reminded that these antics have only brought about disorder and confusion in Liberia’s recent history.
The national security laws of the country plainly stipulate the measures that must be taken to safeguard public order. In a post-conflict nation such as ours, it becomes an even more challenging task. 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.
The CDC-led administration remains proud of its record; we preserved the peace, security, and welfare of the country even during the raging Covid-19 pandemic, and at times 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 gains we have made.
To utilize its new powers to fight corruption effectively, the LACC must treat all audit reports from the General Auditing Commission (GAC) equally, without cherry-picking, to ensure fairness and transparency. 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.
Like you, my fellow compatriots, I love our country and have always put our country’s interest above and beyond my personal interest. I have championed peace and stability, from my advocating for a ceasefire during the civil war to leading disarmament efforts to bring peace, serving as a peace ambassador, and, most recently, my conceding the election even before the pronouncement of final results, you can attest to my selfless and unwavering commitment to the peace, stability and the betterment of pour country. Sadly, it seems that the Boakai administration is interpreting our commitment to the peace and stability of our country as a weakness, and therefore keen on disturbing the peace by weaponizing key government functionaries to witch-hunt officials of the past government.
For the UP administration to exploit our legal system and risk fomenting chaos, it tells you to what extent some politicians are willing to go just to maintain power. This is exactly the path that the CDC sought not to tread when it maintained the stability of the country against all odds, while spearheading a peaceful transition of power to President Boakai in spite of a hard-fought and close election.
These political detentions have, however, shown the lack of foresight and total disregard on the part of Boakai and his confidantes, caring less about the consequences of their actions, insofar as it serves their narrow political interests.
Fellow Liberians, the latest move was intended to divert public attention from the lingering economic crisis the nation faces and the uncovering of government’s use of public funds from the Central Bank to bailout a private bank which the Unity Party used to finance its election campaign. 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.
Suddenly, officials who once gained notoriety for public theft now want us to believe they have transformed into referees of good-governance.
The CDC will be briefing its partisans in the coming days during a series of mass meetings about the dangerous games of witch-hunt by the UP. I call on other members of the opposition to join us in this fight to preserve our political system.
I will continue to engage with ECOWAS leaders, whose countries have given blood and tears to the attainment and sustenance of peace and security in Liberia, while notifying other international partners of this plan by the UP 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.
As Nelson Mandela said and I quote: “I is not our diversity which divides us; it is not our ethnicity, or religion or culture that divides us. Since we have achieved our freedom, there can only be one division amongst us: between those who cherish democracy and those who do not.”
Fellow Liberians, our country has enjoyed peace and stability for over 20 years, and the people deserve perpetual peace and stability. Therefore, the Liberian people must resist any attempt by the Boakai administration to disturb peace.
God bless Liberia!
Comments are closed.