Court clears ex-ULIMO commander of crimes against humanity but leaves sentence intact

Monrovia – Former ULIMO commander Alieu Kosiah will serve the full 20 years in prison for atrocities committed in Lofa County during Liberia’s civil war, after Switzerland’s Federal Supreme Court upheld his war crimes conviction in a ruling made public Friday.

By Rodney Sieh

The decision makes final the first war crimes conviction ever handed down by a Swiss civilian court. It is also the first conviction anywhere of a Liberian for war crimes committed during the country’s two civil wars, which ran from 1989 to 2003 and killed an estimated 250,000 people.

Kosiah was found guilty of crimes committed in Lofa between 1993 and 1995, including killing civilians and ordering their killing, rape, using a child soldier, ordering pillage, cruel treatment of civilians, and desecrating the body of a dead civilian through an act of cannibalism.

The Appeals Chamber of Switzerland’s Federal Criminal Court had found that those crimes alone would justify 150 years in prison. The sentence was reduced to 20 years, the maximum allowed under Swiss law.

Crimes Against Humanity Charge Thrown Out

In a partial win for the defense, the Supreme Court acquitted Kosiah of crimes against humanity, a conviction the Appeals Chamber added in 2023. The court ruled that the crimes against humanity provision, which entered Swiss law in 2011, cannot be applied to acts committed between 1993 and 1995.

The acquittal does not affect his 20-year sentence or his expulsion from Switzerland once he has served it.

Lawyers for the victims welcomed the final conviction but criticized the acquittal.

“Today the survivors of Alieu Kosiah’s crimes have final justice, more than 30 years after they suffered and twelve years after his arrest,” said Alain Werner, Director of Civitas Maxima, the Geneva-based group that represents victims in the case. “When this case began, it was often their word against his, about events during a brutal and traumatic civil war. Today Switzerland’s highest court has confirmed that they were believed.”

Werner said his team was “deeply disappointed” by the acquittal, arguing that civilians in Lofa were deliberately targeted — killed, raped, looted and forced to carry loads for fighters — in a widespread and systematic attack.

“What happened in Lofa between 1993 and 1995 is the very definition of a crime against humanity,” he said.

Twelve Years in Detention

Kosiah settled in Switzerland in the late 1990s and was arrested in November 2014 after Liberian victims filed a criminal complaint through their lawyers. He has been in detention ever since.

Survivors traveled from Liberia to testify against him during the investigation and at both of his trials.

The case was built with the help of the Global Justice and Research Project (GJRP), a Liberian organization that has documented civil war crimes for more than a decade. Together, Civitas Maxima and GJRP have contributed to six criminal trials in four countries linked to Liberia’s civil wars, resulting in five convictions.

‘Our People Should Not Have to Keep Looking to Europe’

The ruling once again throws a spotlight on Liberia’s failure to try its own war criminals. More than two decades after the war ended, no war crimes trial has been held on Liberian soil. Armed groups recruited more than 21,000 children during the conflict.

Liberia has committed to establishing a War and Economic Crimes Court, but the court has yet to hear a case.

GJRP Director Hassan Bility thanked Swiss authorities for more than ten years of commitment that allowed Liberian survivors to take part directly in the trials, but said justice should be delivered at home.

“These crimes were committed in Liberia by a Liberian against Liberians, and the judgment was delivered thousands of miles away,” Bility said. “Our people should not have to keep looking to Europe or the United States for justice. It is more than time for these trials to take place in Liberia, and for the War and Economic Crimes Court to start its work.”

[OPTIONAL: Reaction from the War and Economic Crimes Court office, the Ministry of Justice, or Lofa County residents/lawmakers.]

Capitol Building, Capitol Hill, October 26, 2026 – As he received a petition on the War and Economic Crimes Court from a CSO group under the banner National Council of Chiefs Support Office and the Liberia Massacre Survivors Association (LIMASA), House Speaker Richard Nagbe Koon tells the petitioners that all is on course at the level of the Legislature for the actualization of the proposal.  

By Emmanuel Weedee-Conway

Receiving the document on Monday at his Capitol Building office in Monrovia, the Speaker of the 55^th Legislature assured petitioners that the proposed War and Economic Crimes Court bills remain on the Legislature’s agenda.

LIMASA, the petitioners, was accompanied by a host of other civil society organizations and war victims, who are seeking justice, national healing, reconciliation and accountability for crimes committed during Liberia’s civil conflicts. The move signals the critical importance of the ensuring accountability from what many believe was a nonsensical civil war that ravaged the country for more than 14 years.  

Speaker Koon acknowledged the concerns raised by victims and survivors across the country’s 15 counties and said the House leadership understands the importance of the proposed legislation.

Status Of The Proposal

He pointed out that the bills are currently before the relevant committees of both Houses and are undergoing thorough scrutiny.

According to him, the committees have already conducted public hearings and are seeking funding to conduct additional consultations to gather firsthand information from affected communities before submitting comprehensive reports to plenary.

He noted that the proposed legislation involves technical and complex issues that require careful review, adequate public consultation, and detailed explanations to enable lawmakers to make informed decisions.

No Specific Target

Speaker Koon clarified that the proposed bills are not intended to target any particular individual, tribe or religion, but is intended establish a legal framework for addressing war-related and economic crimes and to strengthen the rule of law.

“The committees are expected to continue consultations after the passage of the national budget, with further legislative discussions anticipated in the first session in January 2027. But what I can tell you is that the proposal is not targeted at any specific individual or group,” asserted the House Speaker.

The Montserrado County Electoral District #11 Representative and head of the Liberian Legislature among other things, assured the petitioners of the House’s commitment to responsible deliberation and encouraged them to continue engaging lawmakers throughout the process.

What The Petitioners Say?

Presenting the document, the petitioners emphasized the importance of establishing the proposed court to provide justice for victims and survivors, promote national reconciliation, and deter future atrocities.

They also highlighted concerns raised during public awareness engagements across Liberia’s 15 counties, noting that victims and survivors continue to seek accountability and closure for atrocities committed during the country’s civil wars.

The petitioners then appealed to the House leadership to prioritize the bills, arguing that their enactment would demonstrate Liberia’s commitment to addressing historical injustices and strengthening the rule of law.

• Hundreds of war victims, survivors and justice advocates protested at the war crimes court office and the Capitol Building, demanding approval of legislation to establish the long-awaited court.
• A disagreement erupted at the Capitol after a lawmaker said a legislative committee had decided to exclude economic crimes from the proposed court. Protesters objected, prompting another lawmaker to assure them that both categories of crimes would be covered.
• The House Committee Chairman pledged to bring the matter before plenary Tuesday, as the government’s timetable for establishing the courts faces uncertainty.

By Anthony Stephens, senior justice correspondent with New Narratives 

Hundreds of victims and survivors of Liberia’s civil wars, joined by justice advocates, protested Thursday outside the government office overseeing the establishment of a war crimes court, temporarily disrupting operations, before moving to the Capitol Building, where a senior lawmaker pledged to place the long-delayed legislation before the House plenary on Tuesday.

The peaceful demonstrations drew people with disabilities, rural women, elderly victims and survivors, young people, and traditional and religious leaders. For hours, protesters gathered outside the Office for the Establishment of the War and Economic Crimes Court, holding placards demanding justice. One read: “REAL PEACE IS NOT THE SILENCE OF GUNS. REAL PEACE IS DISPENSING JUSTICE AND ENDING IMPUNITY. WE CALL ON THE EXECUTIVE AND LEGISLATURE TO GIVE THE PEOPLE JUSTICE & ACCOUNTABILITY NOW…”

“What’s going on wrong? We are suffering,” said Korpo Dennis, president of the Women in Peacebuilding Network, her voice cracking as she broke down in tears, burying her face in her lappa, a traditional cloth wrapped around her waist. Addressing Jallah Barbu, the office’s executive director, Dennis questioned why President Joseph Boakai had not raised the issue at the United Nations General Assembly, as she said he had promised. “He na come, we can hear nothing. We want answer today or else, we will sleep on this street.”

The protests underscored mounting frustration over Liberia’s failure to establish a court to prosecute atrocities committed during its civil wars, more than two decades after the fighting ended. Despite repeated government commitments and consultations, competing bills remain before lawmakers, leaving uncertain when those accused of wartime crimes will face prosecution.

Dennis’s organization was among the women’s peace groups widely credited with helping pressure Liberia’s warring factions to end the conflicts.

Barbu told protesters he remained confident that Boakai had not abandoned his commitment to establishing the court. Prevented from entering his office, along with other staff, he unsuccessfully attempted to reach House Speaker Richard Koon by telephone.

He then contacted James Verdier, the speaker’s chief of staff, who assured protesters that the legislation would be approved. Unsatisfied, the protesters moved to Capitol Hill to press lawmakers directly.

Kula Fofana, Boakai’s press secretary, did not respond to a request for comment on the protesters’ concerns.

“It has taken us too long,” said Jeremiah D. Cooper, a member of the Group of 77, an organization representing people with disabilities. “The same Liberian people who voted for you are the same Liberian people demanding that you pass certain documents in the interest of the country,” he added. “You people say you will not do it. Why?”

But the gathering soon exposed a disagreement over whether the proposed court would prosecute both war crimes and economic crimes.

Prescilla A. Cooper, a Montserrado County representative and member of the House Committee on Claims and Petitions, told protesters that a joint legislative committee tasked with harmonizing the competing bills had agreed to proceed with legislation establishing a war crimes court, leaving economic crimes to be handled separately by the Liberia Anti-Corruption Commission.

The protesters rejected her account, insisting that economic crimes allegedly committed during Liberia’s civil wars must also fall within the proposed court’s jurisdiction.

Justice advocates have long argued that including economic crimes would allow the court to order convicted warlords and other perpetrators, including institutions found responsible, to pay restitution to victims and communities harmed by their actions.

Prince Toles, chairman of the House Committee on Claims and Petitions, sought to reassure the protesters, saying he shared their position that the legislation should establish a War and Economic Crimes Court.

“We signed it in 2024 (the joint resolution). We signed it 5G. But this one, we will give it 20G,” Toles said, referring to the Legislature’s earlier support for establishing the court. “If people did not rob the system, all of us would have lived better. I want to tell you that we are with you.”

“We will bring this matter before plenary,” Toles said. “But if they ask us to bring a paper signed by the different stakeholders, I will just propose that you draft something for us temporarily. Bring it here tomorrow (Friday), then I will put it on the floor on Tuesday.”

Plenary, the full membership of either legislative chamber, is its highest decision-making body. Toles’s pledge does not guarantee a vote or passage Tuesday.

House leaders subsequently invited protest organizers to a meeting.

“We feel a little bit relieved that it will work,” Peterson Sonyah, executive director of the Liberia Massacre Survivors Association, said by phone afterward. “We are impressed with the discussion. We are planning to be there on Tuesday.”

The protests came as Liberia approaches a deadline in its plans to establish the courts.

Under a 36-page roadmap submitted to Boakai in July 2025, the court office projected that the National Anti-Corruption Court would be operational by November 2026, followed by the War and Economic Crimes Court in November 2027.

With neither court’s establishing legislation approved, the timetable faces uncertainty. The roadmap also envisaged completing trials by 2031, after which the war crimes court would transition to a residual mechanism.

Liberia is also preparing to assume the rotating presidency of the United Nations Security Council in December, a moment justice advocates say will draw international attention to the country’s unfinished accountability efforts.

A FrontPage Africa/New Narratives survey of 1,150 people across 11 counties found that 91 percent supported establishing the court, while 89 percent said they would not vote for lawmakers opposing it.

The survey was not scientifically sampled. Only 4 percent of respondents reported awareness of lawmakers’ consultations on the proposed court.

The legislative process has been complicated by six competing proposals.

They include a War Crimes Court bill from the Liberian National Bar Association; a separate proposal from civil society organizations working with the Independent National Commission on Human Rights; and two bills introduced by Senate President Pro Tempore Nyonblee Karnga-Lawrence and Senator Joseph Jallah, one proposing a War Crimes Court and another a Special Economic and Corruption Crimes Court.

The remaining two bills were prepared by the court office, proposing a War and Economic Crimes Court and a separate National Anti-Corruption Court. Boakai subsequently forwarded both proposals to the Legislature.

The senators’ proposals drew criticism from justice advocates, who warned that provisions concerning jurisdiction and appeals could weaken wartime accountability.

In June, more than 40 House members attended a two-day technical deliberation in Buchanan, Grand Bassa County, organized by the court office and its partners to examine the legislation.

Separately, the Senate Committee on Judiciary, Human Rights, Claims and Petitions began consultations on the competing bills, seeking to resolve differences over senior appointments, prosecutorial independence and appeals.

The committee also outlined plans to harmonize the proposals, with further consultations and hearings expected before the legislative session ended.

Neither chamber approved the legislation before lawmakers departed for their constituency break.

The Legislature was scheduled to return October 9, but a dispute over lawmakers’ benefits delayed the House’s reopening. Regular business resumed October 13.

For Sonyah and the other organizers, Tuesday will test the assurances they received. They intend to return to the Capitol to see whether the matter reaches plenary — and whether the proposed legislation retains both war crimes and economic crimes.

This story was a collaboration with New Narratives as part of the Investigating Liberia project. Funding was provided by the U.N. Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights and the European Union. The funders had no say in the story’s content.

Summary:

• A coalition of civil society institutions has begun providing medical assistance to Liberians injured during the country’s civil wars, marking an initial step toward reparations.
• The initiative comes more than 17 years after Liberia’s Truth and Reconciliation Commission recommended the Liberian government establish a US$500 million (equivalent to US$781 million in today’s dollars) reparations program, which has yet to be implemented.
• Advocates say it is the first step towards developing a national victims’ trust fund, funded by donations by Liberians matched by government funds, as survivors grow older and Liberia moves toward establishing a War and Economic Crimes Court.

By Anthony Stephens, senior justice correspondent with New Narratives

JOHN F. KENNEDY HOSPITAL, Monrovia— For 36 years, Rufus Kartee has lived with a bullet wound he says he suffered at the hands of troops of the Armed Forces of Liberia at St. Peter’s Lutheran Church in 1990, where one of Liberia’s deadliest wartime massacres took place. Now 65, he walks with a crutch, struggles to find shelter and sometimes begs for food. He lives with chronic pain and poverty long after the country’s civil wars ended.

On a recent afternoon here at the country’s largest hospital, Kartee holds his medical records and appointment card. A bullet struck his left hip during the massacre, he says, damaging the bone and leaving him unable to walk without assistance. After decades of unsuccessful appeals for medical care, he is finally receiving treatment.

“I am very happy,” Kartee says. “I am in serious pain. From the wound and the damaged bone, it has me breathing fast, fast.”

Kartee is among five civil war survivors receiving medical care through an initiative by the Liberia Massacre Survivors Association, the Independent National Commission on Human Rights and the Women’s NGOs Secretariat. Organizers call it Liberia’s first effort to provide medical treatment as reparations, more than 23 years after the wars ended.

Two beneficiaries are in Montserrado County, two in Nimba and one in Bomi.

The Commission contributed US$55 and LRD 22,000 toward treatment for two survivors at JFK, covering half the cost of a woman’s X-ray and treatment for neck wounds, as well as four pints of blood for Kartee.

The Ministry of Health paid the remaining JFK costs and treatment for the three survivors elsewhere. The Commission also covered transportation, says Commissioner Partmellia Doe Paivey. Kartee was the only patient to undergo surgery.

The survivors were treated for injuries to their arms, ribs, backs and other body parts. A woman from Bomi said forces loyal to former President Charles Taylor threw her into the Mayeh River in 2003, leaving her wounded.

The other four beneficiaries remain unidentified. Paivey said the Commission could not “disclose their names for other purposes,” without elaborating.

The new initiative grew from a proposal by human rights lawyer Tiawan Gongloe for a National War Victims Relief Fund supported by public contributions and government matching funds.

In an opinion piece in August, Gongloe proposed annual contributions of at least US$1 from employed Liberians and those abroad, L$100 from unemployed Liberians who could afford it, and US$5 in government matching funds for every US$1 raised.

At the survivors association’s 17th anniversary gathering in August, Jallah Barbu, head of the office establishing Liberia’s war and economic crimes court, made a public display of his support for the idea by donating the first dollar during his keynote address. Paivey accepted it and pledged to launch the fund within days.

The effort follows a longstanding recommendation of Liberia’s Truth and Reconciliation Commission, which proposed a US$500 million reparations program over 30 years in its 2009 final report, covering medical care, counseling, education and financial assistance.

More than 17 years later, the recommendations remain largely unfulfilled. In August 2024, then-Justice Minister Oswald Tweh pledged at the United Nations that the Boakai administration was “committed to establishing a reparation trust fund to support conflict victims.” No comprehensive program has emerged.

Kartee’s hardship has deepened with the loss of his wife and two daughters. His wife died of a stroke in July. His eldest daughter, Brenda, the family’s breadwinner, died in 2019 at 35. Another daughter, Kathy, died of tuberculosis that year at 27.

His surviving children also struggle financially. Enes, 40, is a farmer, while Rufus Kartee Jr., 36, is unemployed but helps his father with errands and medical visits.

Kartee describes his circumstances simply: “Very, very poor. Life is tough.”

For survivors still living with injuries, trauma and poverty decades after Liberia’s civil wars, advocates say prosecutions alone are not enough.

“We feel that reparations cannot be left out of transitional justice,” says Paivey, a lawyer, arguing that criminal accountability alone cannot address the lasting suffering of war victims.

But the Commission lacks funds even for Kartee’s nutrition during recovery. It is seeking US$250,000 in the 2026/2027 budget for a victims’ trust fund.

A proposed national reparations framework, potentially headed to the Legislature, would cover medical care, psychological support and economic assistance. Survivor consultations are planned for November. Peterson Sonyah, head of the Liberia Massacre Survivors Association, said his coalition also hopes to provide counseling.

Human rights advocate Adama Dempster has recenly called for an independent reparations body, arguing that compensation could aid reconciliation despite being unable to undo wartime suffering.

Paivey warns that survivors are aging, and some may be needed as witnesses in future war crimes trials.

Surgery has eased Kartee’s pain, but hopes to see those responsible for wartime atrocities face justice.

“So, we that are alive today, if I will survive, I will still be happy to see the people going through court process.”

This story was a collaboration with New Narratives as part of the Investigating Liberia project. Funding was provided by the U.N. Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights and the European Union. The funders had no say in the story’s content.

Summary:

• Two U.S. Embassy officials visited Liberia’s leading war crimes investigation group following death threats against its director of investigations, who was subsequently relocated for security reasons.
• Hassan Bility, the group’s director, described the visit as a show of American solidarity while the officials declined to comment on the visit.
• The visit comes amid security concerns linked to investigations involving alleged Liberian war criminals, including former senior army commander Moses Wright, whose U.S. trial has been postponed until February 2027.

By Anthony Stephens, senior justice correspondent with New Narratives 

Two officials from the U.S. Embassy in Monrovia visited the Global Justice and Research Project, Liberia’s leading war crimes investigation group, two weeks after it relocated its director of investigations following repeated death threats. The group’s director said the visit was an expression of American solidarity with his organization.

Christopher M. Hofmann, a political officer at the Embassy, and Thomas Quaye, a political and human rights assistant, visited the organization earlier this month. They allowed this reporter to photograph their visit but declined to comment on the discussions, referring questions to Hassan Bility, the group’s director.

“The U.S. had come to listen to some of our security concerns,” Bility said in an interview after the meeting. “Their coming was a solidarity of support to indicate that the United States stands with us, and the United States will not stand by idly to allow somebody to do harm to the Global Justice and Research Project.”

The visit comes amid growing security concerns involving the Global Justice and Research Project, whose investigations have contributed to convictions of former rebel commanders over their Liberia war-related crimes, in the United States and Europe. The organization has repeatedly faced threats and attacks.

The latest threats were directed at an investigator working on cases involving alleged wartime perpetrators, including Moses Wright, 73, a former senior Liberian army commander accused of concealing his wartime activities when applying for U.S. immigration benefits. Survivors have accused Wright of involvement in the 1990 St. Peter’s Lutheran Church massacre, in which an estimated 600 civilians were killed. He faces federal immigration fraud and perjury charges in Pennsylvania and has denied the charges.

Bility said his organization had sought security assistance from the two-member U.S. Embassy delegation but declined to share what they said. Nevertheless he said he was comforted by the visit.

“I feel more secure,” Bility said of the embassy’s visit. “Every time U.S. embassy officials visit this office, for us, it becomes an expression of solidarity with our works and our belief, what we stand for. And we know what they can do.”

In 2021, Michael McCarthy, then the U.S. ambassador to Liberia, visited the group’s offices and publicly expressed support for Bility’s work amid threats against the organization.

The organization has faced other security incidents. Earlier this year, armed men broke into its Monrovia offices, assaulted a security guard and threatened Bility, prompting renewed concerns about the safety of those investigating wartime atrocities.

Bility said the Liberia National Police had not provided updates on complaints the organization filed concerning the threats. Gregory Coleman, Liberia’s police inspector general, did not respond to the latest request for comment.

The Global Justice and Research Project and its Swiss partner, Civitas Maxima, have helped document atrocities committed during Liberia’s civil wars, gathering evidence and identifying witnesses for investigations and prosecutions in the United States and Europe.

Their work has contributed to several convictions. In the United States, Mohammed Jabateh, a former rebel commander known as “Jungle Jabbah,” was sentenced to 30 years in prison for immigration fraud and perjury. In Switzerland, Alieu Kosiah, another former rebel commander, received a 20-year sentence for war crimes. In France, Kunti Kamara, a former commander of the same rebel group, was sentenced to 30 years imprisonment in 2022 for complicity in crimes against humanity, torture and acts of barbarism.

The organizations’ work has also drawn accusations of witness coaching and bribery from defendants and their supporters, allegations they, investigators and prosecutors in every case have rejected.

In 2022, Beth Van Schaack, then the U.S. ambassador-at-large for global criminal justice, publicly backed Bility and his organization, praising their contribution to international prosecutions.

“These cases would not be possible without the amazing work of the Global Justice and Research Project and other Liberian and international civil society actors who have rigorously, reliably, and with unwavering integrity worked to keep the dream of justice alive,” she said.

Van Schaack also expressed concern about threats and intimidation against the organization’s staff.

Threats against Global Justice have fueled concerns about security for witnesses and officials of Liberia’s proposed war and economic crimes court. The country’s Witness Protection Agency recently unveiled a US$20.54 million plan they said would be needed to support the activities of the court.

This story was a collaboration with New Narratives as part of the Investigating Liberia project. Funding was provided by the Swedish International Cooperation Development Agency. The funder had no say in the story’s content.

Summary:

• The trial of Moses Wright, 73, a former senior Liberian army commander accused of lying to immigration agents about his involvement in Liberia’s civil conflict has been postponed to February. It was set to start in November. The court has yet to give a reason for the delay.
• U.S. prosecutors allege that Wright concealed his involvement in wartime atrocities when seeking immigration benefits and citizenship. He faces immigration-related charges, because the U.S. did not have laws in place to try citizens for war crimes committed in international jurisdictions when the alleged crimes took place.
• Wright faces a maximum possible sentence of 165 years in prison and a US$7 million fine.

By Anthony Stephens, senior justice correspondent with New Narratives 

The U.S. trial of Moses Wright, a former senior Liberian army commander accused of ordering and overseeing the 1990 St. Peter’s Lutheran Church massacre in which an estimated 600 men, women and children were killed, has been postponed again.

Wright’s trial, previously scheduled for November in the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Pennsylvania in Philadelphia, has been rescheduled for February, the latest in a series of delays.

“We see it as a setback to our quest for justice,” said Marcus P. Quoigoah, executive director of the Lutheran Massacre Survivors Association, in a phone interview. “We are frustrated. Looking at the lives of so many that have been shattered as a result of Wright and his men, delaying this, we feel that justice is still being halted.”

The postponement comes more than 36 years after the massacre, for which no one has been criminally convicted in Liberia. It also comes as legislation to establish a War and Economic Crimes Court has stalled at the Liberian Legislature, while survivors continue to pursue accountability through legal proceedings abroad.

Wright, 73, faces federal immigration fraud and perjury charges over allegations that he concealed his involvement in atrocities during Liberia’s first civil war to obtain immigration benefits and eventually U.S. citizenship.

According to a June 2022 indictment announced by the U.S. Department of Justice, Wright allegedly committed atrocities against civilians or ordered troops under his command to carry them out, including the persecution of members of the Gio and Mano ethnic groups, murder, assault, unlawful arrests and imprisonment.

Wright is believed to be a cousin of the late President Samuel Doe, and his alleged role during the First Liberian Civil War was General Commander of the Armed Forces of Liberia, which would make him one of the most prominent figures in the conflict.  Liberia’s 2009 Truth and Reconciliation Commission report also named Wright, Moses Thomas, James Chelly and George Dweh in the June 1990 massacre of 27 Gio and Mano family members of Armed Forces of Liberia personnel living at the Barclay Training Center barracks in Monrovia. The killings were carried out “reportedly under orders of Samuel Doe,” according to the report. The commission also implicated Chelly, an army captain, in military operations against civilians in Nimba County, stating that he and Edwin Voker “commanded the onslaught.”

Dweh, a senior figure in the Movement for Democracy in Liberia, rebel group who became Speaker of Liberia’s transitional legislature in 2003, died in April 2020 without facing prosecution for his alleged involvement in the massacre or other wartime abuses.

The massacre occurred in July 1990, when soldiers of the Armed Forces of Liberia attacked civilians sheltering at St. Peter’s Lutheran Church in Monrovia during the country’s first civil war. Although it is not explicitly mentioned in Wright’s indictment, he commanded the army when the massacre took place. He oversaw Moses Thomas, a more junior commander, who was found civilly liable for the massacre in a 2021 case. The court ordered him to pay $84 million in damages to four survivors and relatives of victims. He fled the United States for Liberia avoiding enforcement of the fine.

“We still hold him responsible for the over 600 lives that were murdered,” said Quoigoah. “Wright had a hand; he had a big stake in it.”

Prosecutors say Wright obtained asylum in the United States in 2000, permanent residency in 2008 and applied for citizenship in 2013. He allegedly concealed his wartime conduct during the immigration process and repeated false statements under oath during an August 2016 naturalization interview.

Wright is not being prosecuted directly for violations of international law including war crimes or crimes against humanity because of limitations in U.S. federal law. The United States enacted so-called “universal jurisdiction” laws that allow government to prosecute people for crimes committed outside the country, after the alleged atrocities in Liberia in 1990. Those laws cannot be applied retroactively to conduct that occurred before they took effect.

Instead, prosecutors have brought immigration fraud and perjury charges, an approach previously used against other Liberian war criminals, including Mohammed Jabateh and Thomas Woewiyu, who were convicted in Philadelphia in 2017 and 2018, respectively. Jabateh is serving a 30-year sentence. Woewiyu died while awaiting sentencing. In 2026 former Liberians United for Reconciliation and Democracy commander Layee Sekou Camara, known as during the war as “K1,” pleaded guilty after being charged with immigration offenses. He is serving a nearly five-year sentence.

Other former Liberian rebel commanders have also been deported from the United States over immigration violations linked to their wartime activities. They include George Boley, former leader of the Liberia Peace Council, who was deported in March 2012 after a U.S. immigration court found that he had engaged in extrajudicial killings and recruited and used child soldiers. Mayama Sesay, known as “Black Diamond,” a former commander of the Liberians United for Reconciliation and Democracy rebel group, was deported in September 2025 after an immigration judge found that she had lied about recruiting and using child soldiers during her immigration applications.

Wright has denied the charges. If convicted on all counts, he faces a maximum sentence of 165 years in prison and $7 million in fines.

The proceedings against Wright have been accompanied by security concerns involving Liberian investigators. In September, the Global Justice and Research Project, a leading Liberian war crimes investigation organization, relocated a senior investigator following repeated death threats allegedly linked to Wright’s sympathizers.

Among the survivors still seeking accountability is Rufus Kartee, 65, who says a bullet struck his left hip during the massacre, damaging the bone and leaving him dependent on a crutch for more than three decades.

Kartee spoke to FrontPage Africa/New Narratives before undergoing surgery at the John F. Kennedy Memorial Medical Center in Monrovia this month. He said he hoped to see those responsible brought to justice before more survivors died.

“The main, main people them dying on a daily basis,” he said. “Even people from our side too are dying on a daily basis.”

Kartee said seeing alleged perpetrators face trial remains a priority.

“So, we that are alive today, if I will survive, I will still be happy to see the people going through court process.”

This story was a collaboration with New Narratives as part of the Investigating Liberia project. Funding was provided by the U.N. Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights and the European Union. The funders had no say in the story’s content.

MONROVIA— A Liberian delegation comprising officials from the Office for the Establishment of War and Economic Crimes Court for Liberia (OWECC-L) and the Press Union of Liberia (PUL) has returned from Rwanda following a study tour aimed at strengthening Liberia’s efforts to establish the War and Economic Crimes Court (WECC) and the National Anti-Corruption Court (NACC).

By Patience M. Jones,patiencejones@frontpageafricaonline.com

The delegation returned late Monday, October 12 after a study tour conducted from September 24 to October 12 during which members engaged Rwandan transitional justice institutions, government agencies, media organizations, memorial centers, and civil society groups to examine lessons from the country’s post-conflict recovery and accountability processes.

The visit sought to promote institutional learning, technical cooperation, and partnerships that could support Liberia’s efforts to address the legacies of its civil conflicts, strengthen accountability, and advance national reconciliation.

Dr. Cllr. Jallah A. Barbu, Executive Director of OWECC- and Julius Kanubah, President of the PUL, led discussions on how Rwanda’s experience could inform Liberia’s transitional justice process, particularly in establishing mechanisms to address war-related atrocities and economic crimes.

The discussions also explored opportunities for cooperation in national healing, memorialization, digital archiving, institutional capacity-building, and assistance for victims and survivors of Liberia’s civil conflicts.

According to the delegation, Rwanda’s experience offers lessons on confronting painful national histories, promoting social cohesion, strengthening public confidence in institutions, and pursuing accountability for serious human rights violations and economic crimes.

Media Responsibility and Transitional Justice

The delegation also prioritized engagement with Rwandan media institutions, recognizing the role of journalism in both conflict and post-conflict recovery.

Rwanda’s history illustrates the devastating consequences of media being used to promote hatred and incitement during the 1994 Genocide against the Tutsi, as well as the potential for responsible journalism to contribute to public education, reconciliation, and national recovery.

Against this backdrop, the delegation held strategic engagements with the Rwandan Journalists Association (ARJ), the Rwanda Media Commission (RMC), and the Liberian Media Institutions Network-Rwanda (LMIN-R), a network of online media platforms operated by Liberian students living in Rwanda, including journalists and other media practitioners.

OWECC-L and the PUL expressed confidence that the engagements could lead to practical cooperation in transitional justice reporting, professional development, digital documentation, peace education, and exchanges between media practitioners in both countries.

The institutions also indicated that prospective collaborations could complement existing memoranda of understanding and strengthen professional solidarity and democratic accountability between Liberia and Rwanda.

For Liberia, stronger media engagement in transitional justice could help improve public understanding of the proposed justice institutions, encourage informed national dialogue, and ensure that the experiences of victims and survivors remain part of discussions surrounding accountability and reconciliation.

Study Tour Covered Five Rwandan Locations

The study tour covered Kigali, Musanze, Rubavu, Kibuye, and Nyanza, exposing delegates to Rwanda’s transitional justice institutions, memorialization initiatives, and post-conflict recovery programs.

The delegation comprised Dr. Barbu; Kanubah; Ezekiel E. Fayia, a Liberia National Police intelligence and investigative officer assigned to OWECC-L; Simeon J. Lomah, Head of Information and Communications Technology at OWECC-L; Edmond S. Kamei, Assistant Director for Operations at OWECC-L; and Patrick Niyongabo, an adviser and escort for the Rwanda engagements.

The delegation also received support from Tyfred B. Teh, a Liberian student pursuing a Master of Laws degree in Rwanda and a member of the Steering Committee of the African Transitional Justice Youth Network (ATJYN), who assisted with and participated in several engagements.

The visit comes as Liberia continues efforts to establish the WECC and NACC as part of its broader pursuit of accountability and justice.

The proposed WECC is intended to address crimes committed during Liberia’s civil conflicts, while the NACC is expected to strengthen efforts to prosecute corruption-related offenses.

As the country advances these initiatives, lessons from Rwanda’s experience could inform institutional development, public education, documentation, and engagement with victims and survivors.

However, the practical impact of the study tour will depend on how the lessons and relationships developed during the visit translate into concrete institutional cooperation and progress toward establishing the proposed courts.

KIGALI, Rwanda — For thousands of Liberians still waiting for justice for atrocities committed during the country’s brutal civil conflicts, the establishment of a court to prosecute war and economic crimes represents more than a legal undertaking. It is a long-awaited opportunity to confront the past, hold perpetrators accountable and give victims and survivors a greater sense of justice.

By Patience M. Jones,patiencejones@frontpageafricaonline.com

Against this backdrop, a high-level Liberian delegation is looking to Rwanda for lessons, technical support and strategic partnerships that could help shape Liberia’s transitional justice process.

The delegation, comprising representatives of the Office for the Establishment of War and Economic Crimes Court for Liberia (OWECC-Liberia), the Press Union of Liberia (PUL) and the Liberia National Police (LNP), has undertaken a series of engagements with Rwandan institutions working in transitional justice, law enforcement, academia, civil society and the media.

The engagements, which began following the delegation’s arrival in Rwanda on October 2,  are aimed at identifying practical lessons and opportunities for collaboration as Liberia moves toward establishing and operationalizing its proposed War and Economic Crimes Court (WECC) and National Anti-Corruption Court (NACC).

For Liberia, where questions of accountability for past atrocities remain central to national reconciliation, the initiative presents an opportunity to learn from another African country’s experience in confronting a violent past and pursuing justice.

LOOKING BEYOND THE COURTROOM

Led by Cllr. Professor Jallah A. Barbu, Executive Director of OWECC-Liberia; Julius Kanubah, President of the Press Union of Liberia  and Ezekiel E. Fayia, Superintendent of the Liberia National Police, the delegation has held discussions across Kigali, Musanze and Rubavu.

The delegation is also scheduled to visit Kibuye and Nyamata before returning to Liberia.

The discussions have focused on transitional justice, reconciliation, accountability, national healing, memorialization, digitalization and support for victims and survivors of Liberia’s armed conflicts.

These issues extend beyond the creation of judicial institutions. They also raise questions about how victims can access justice, how survivors can have their experiences acknowledged, how evidence can be preserved and how society can confront the consequences of violence without abandoning accountability.

For the Liberian delegation, Rwanda’s experience offers an opportunity to examine approaches that could inform the country’s own efforts, while recognizing that Liberia must develop solutions suited to its history, institutions and national circumstances.

During engagements with Rwandan transitional justice actors, Barbu and Kanubah emphasized the importance of cross-cultural learning, technical assistance and institutional capacity-building in strengthening Liberia’s transitional justice process.

The delegation includes Simeon J. Lomah, Head of Information and Communications Technology at OWECC-Liberia; Edmond S. Kamei, Assistant Director for Operations at OWECC-Liberia; and Patrick Niyongabo, Escort and Adviser to the delegation.

Media Partnerships To Strengthen Accountability

Beyond judicial institutions, the delegation is also exploring opportunities to strengthen cooperation between Liberian and Rwandan media organizations.

Kanubah expressed confidence that discussions with the Rwanda Journalists Association (ARJ) and the Rwanda Media Commission (RMC) would lead to a memorandum of understanding to promote collaboration between the two countries’ journalism communities.

The proposed partnership is expected to create opportunities for professional exchange, knowledge-sharing and stronger media solidarity.

For Liberia, where public understanding of transitional justice will be essential to meaningful national participation, stronger journalism partnerships could help expand public education and improve reporting on accountability, reconciliation and the work of institutions responsible for addressing past and present injustices.

A well-informed public is critical to ensuring that transitional justice is not treated solely as a government or legal-sector initiative, but as a national process in which citizens understand their rights, responsibilities and opportunities to participate.

Turning International Lessons Into National Action

The delegation’s engagements come as Liberia continues efforts to advance the establishment of the War and Economic Crimes Court and the National Anti-Corruption Court.

While international exchanges can provide valuable insights, their significance will ultimately depend on how those lessons are translated into practical action at home.

For victims and survivors of Liberia’s civil conflicts, the promise of transitional justice will be measured not simply by international partnerships or institutional announcements, but by whether credible mechanisms emerge to pursue accountability, recognize suffering and contribute to national healing.

The delegation’s ongoing engagements in Rwanda therefore represent an opportunity to build relationships and strengthen institutional knowledge that could support Liberia’s justice and accountability agenda.

The ultimate test, however, will be whether the knowledge gained and partnerships developed can help move Liberia closer to a transitional justice process that responds meaningfully to the needs of victims, survivors and the wider public.

Summary:

·  Liberia’s Witness Protection Agency is stepping up operations as the country pushes to establish war and economic crimes and anti-corruption courts.

·  The Agency faces major challenges, including limited funding, a shortage of trained protection officers, no safe house of its own and the need to build public trust.

·  The Agency plans to expand protection services nationwide, including safe facilities for witnesses and victims who may testify before a future war crimes court.

By Anthony Stephens, senior justice correspondent with New Narratives

As efforts build to establish war and economic crimes and anti-corruption courts in Liberia, the government agency responsible for protecting witnesses, victims and whistleblowers is confronting a fundamental challenge: persuading people that it can keep them safe.

The Witness Protection Agency, established by law in 2022 but operationalized only within the past nine months, has begun holding consultations, developing protection policies and working to build public confidence in a country where witnesses, whistleblowers and human rights investigators have faced threats and retaliation, and some have fled for their safety.

“If Liberian citizens continue to believe in panic and fear and cannot see that the government can be trusted to protect them, then this whole effort will be in vain,” said Teklo Maxwell Grigsby II, the Agency’s director, in an interview. “The more we invest in people, the more people can trust us, the more accurately we can push to get what the country deserves.”

The Agency’s ability to deliver on those promises could be critical to Liberia’s broader justice push. The proposed courts will depend on witnesses willing to provide evidence, including in cases involving powerful people and crimes committed decades ago. But getting people to testify may depend on whether they believe the government can protect them from retaliation — a difficult task for an Agency still struggling with limited funding, a shortage of trained protection officers, no safe house of its own and public mistrust shaped by past experiences.

Some Liberian institutions, including the Liberia National Police, Liberia Immigration Service, National Security Agency, Liberia Anti-Corruption Commission, Ministry of Justice and Office of the Ombudsman, have mechanisms or procedures that can provide protection, confidentiality or other safeguards for witnesses, victims and whistleblowers. But the Witness Protection Agency is the first institution established specifically to administer and coordinate a national program for their protection.

By operationalizing the Agency, Liberia joins a relatively small group of African countries, including Kenya and Ghana, that have enacted laws establishing dedicated agencies to protect witnesses and others who may face threats or retaliation for cooperating with investigations and prosecutions. Other countries, including South Africa and Uganda, operate witness-protection programs within existing justice or prosecution institutions.

Liberia’s Witness Protection Agency is headed by Grigsby, a lawyer, with Varney Ali Sherif serving as deputy director and Frank S. Suku, also a lawyer, as coordinator and head of its secretariat. Its mandate covers protection during investigations and pre-hearing proceedings, trials and the post-trial period.

Its services include identity and physical protection, psychosocial counseling and welfare support, legal assistance, safe housing, temporary or permanent relocation and reintegration. Confidentiality is one of its stated core values.

At a recent program to validate the Agency’s 5-year plan in Monrovia, Grigsby acknowledged that convincing Liberians to entrust sensitive information — and potentially their lives — to a government institution will not be easy. Past experiences with institutions responsible for handling sensitive cases, he said, have contributed to fears about whether people can safely disclose wrongdoing. Some have instead sought safety outside Liberia.

Few people understand those concerns better than Hassan Bility, director of the Global Justice and Research Project, Liberia’s leading war-crimes investigation group.

His organization and its Swiss partner, Civitas Maxima, have worked with authorities in foreign jurisdictions to help build cases against more than a dozen people accused of crimes connected to Liberia’s civil wars in the United States and Europe. Bility said he, members of his staff and witnesses involved in those cases have faced harassment and intimidation.

“One reason why witnesses don’t trust Liberians, don’t trust us Liberians generally, is that they think that we, in the Liberian English, ‘talk too much,’” said Bility, also at that event. “So there has got to be a system.”

He also stressed the need for experienced specialists to help develop Liberia’s protection system, something Grigsby acknowledged.

“You need people with the technical expertise who have worked in this area for many years to help us in setting the pace for legal and institutional framework,” Grigsby said in an interview. “We need the international dimension, global best practice for witness protection in Liberia.”

With funding from the European Union, the Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights is providing technical support to the Agency. The Office has also brought in an international expert to help the Agency strengthen its strategic five-year plan and align it with international standards.

The Boakai administration has repeatedly pledged to strengthen protections for victims, witnesses and whistleblowers. In June, as President Boakai launched Liberia’s National Security Strategy 2026–2036, promising to strengthen public confidence in the country’s security institutions.

His administration has also moved to strengthen incentives for people who disclose wrongdoing. According to the Witness Protection Agency, Boakai called on relevant government institutions at a March Cabinet meeting to review the Whistleblower Act of 2021 and propose amendments. The president directed then-Justice Minister Oswald Tweh to pursue stronger incentives for witnesses, victims and whistleblowers who provide information in high-profile corruption cases, mineral and natural-resource smuggling and other major crimes.

Among the proposed changes, the Agency is pushing to increase rewards for whistleblowers from 5 percent to 10 percent and introduce bounties intended to encourage reporting of corruption, organized crime and smuggling.

The Agency has consulted government ministries and agencies involved in anti-corruption efforts, lawmakers, the media and civil society about the proposed amendment. Grigsby said the proposal received overwhelming support.

But persuading witnesses and whistleblowers to come forward is only part of the problem. Keeping them safe can be expensive. Under its plan, the Agency is proposing more than US$6 million for protection operations as part of projected spending of US$20.54 million. Its financing proposal includes a one-cent levy on every gallon of petroleum imported into Liberia to help finance a proposed Victim, Witness and Whistleblower Trust Fund, alongside international donor support.

Current government allocations are far below those ambitions.

The 2026 national budget national budget allocated US$700,000 to the Witness Protection Unit, with projections of US$390,000 for fiscal year 2027 and US$401,000 for 2028.

Money is not its only constraint. The Agency currently employs 65 people, but Grigsby acknowledged that it does not yet have enough professionally trained protection officers. Many newly recruited employees are undergoing specialized training, requiring the Agency to rely on personnel from the Liberia National Police, National Security Agency and other security institutions.

Grigsby said 20 officers were being sent for basic police training to strengthen their capacity to provide physical protection. The Agency has also begun international training for personnel working in areas including internal control, finance and human resources. It plans to recruit about 45 additional protection officers and psychosocial counselors in 2027 as it expands its capacity.

The Agency is also trying to establish strict rules governing the information entrusted to its employees. Grigsby said staff members had signed confidentiality undertakings barring them from disclosing information about potential witnesses and victims, including their identities. Breaches, he said, could carry penalties of up to 10 years in prison.

Those safeguards will operate against a history in which some people who disclosed wrongdoing have reported retaliation. In 2023, New Narratives Narratives documented 12 cases of government whistleblowers who allegedly faced retaliation over the previous 14 years. Seven died in circumstances their families linked to efforts to silence them, four lost their jobs, and three fled the country or went into hiding.

The Agency, meanwhile, has no safe house of its own, limited vehicles and protection personnel, and operations largely concentrated in Montserrado. Its ambitious strategy proposes five safe houses — two in Montserrado and three elsewhere — where threatened witnesses and their families could be temporarily relocated.

The need could grow if Liberia establishes its proposed War and Economic Crimes Court. Grigsby said the Agency plans to coordinate with the Office for the Establishment of the War and Economic Crimes Court over its proposed witness-protection unit. He said the Agency also wants existing and future safe homes used for witness protection brought under common national standards and coordination.

Grigsby said the Agency intends to take a more central role in overseeing facilities used to shelter witnesses and victims. “All safe homes across the Republic of Liberia will have a minimum standard, guided by our policy and coordinated by our office,” he said.

Grigsby said the Agency’s priority will be building enough public confidence for witnesses, victims and whistleblowers to trust the government with their safety. Without that trust, he said, the country’s efforts to finally address war time justice and combat corruption will fail.

This story was a collaboration with New Narratives as part of the Investigating Liberia project. Funding was provided by the U.N. Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights and the European Union. The funders had no say in the story’s content.

Summary:

• A FrontPage Africa/New Narratives survey of 100 Nimba residents found that 90% support establishing a War and Economic Crimes Court, with respondents saying those responsible for atrocities during Liberia’s wars should face due process and that victims deserve justice and the truth about what happened to their families.
• For many Nimbaians, support for the court is rooted in personal experiences of war. Residents including Yah Dumbar and Jackson Beh described killings, displacement and loss of family members, saying accountability is necessary to address Liberia’s painful history and prevent a repetition of the violence.
• The survey also raises questions about lawmakers’ claims that they need to consult constituents. Only three of the 100 Nimba respondents said they had heard of consultations by their representatives or senators. Some respondents said they would not support lawmakers who oppose the court, while Representative Nyah Garmie Flomo said he supports the court and plans to engage his constituents.

By Jerome Saye with New Narratives

SANNIQUELLIE, Nimba County—They are the second biggest voting bloc in the country. They’re also the former constituents of long-time senator, Prince Johnson who was the loudest opponent to a war and economic crimes court. He even threatened to take up arms if he were indicted. So the views of citizens of Nimba, almost two years after Johnson died, have been closely watched as the Liberian Legislature decides whether and in what form to hold a court.

A new survey by FrontPage Africa/New Narratives suggests the people of Nimba County overwhelmingly want to see a court established and will punish lawmakers at the ballot box if they do not get it. (The survey can be viewed here.)

“Let them people that do bad, bad thing in this war here where some of them are still alive, let them come and face the court,” said Yah Dumber, a 45-year-old small business owner in Gbedin Town. She said Nelson Gweh of ULIMO-K, Alhaji Kromah’s wing of the rebel faction led the invasion of the Central Agricultural Research Institute in 1994 when it was serving as the headquarters for the rival National Patriotic Front of Liberia. They killed her family members who were sheltering there. She has been aching for justice for more than 32 years.

The survey interviewed 100 people in Nimba’s seven administrative districts – Sanniquellie Mah, Saclepea Mah, Gbehlay Geh, Zoe Geh, Bain Gar, Yarpea Mah and Tapitta. Ninety percent or nine in every ten interviewees said they wanted the establishment of the court. The survey was not done under scientific conditions, but the overwhelming margin among the 100 people interviewed provides a strong indication of the views of the county.

Jackson Beh, 40, is a farmer and a resident of Peelar Old Town in Yarpea Mah District. He said his brother Emmanuel Yaye was killed by a group of soldiers of the Krahn ethnic group serving with the government’s Arm Forces of Liberia in 1990.

Beh said his brother was on his way to celebrate a major achievement when he was killed.

“Our brother, he graduated from high school and he was trying to go to America,” he said. “He came home and showed us his graduation card. That was the last time we saw him. We never imagined that the graduation card he brought home would become one of the last memories we had of him.”

The survey comes as President Joseph Nyuma Boakai’s administration pushes legislation for the establishment of the court which would prosecute those bearing the greatest responsibility for war crimes, crimes against humanity, economic crimes and serious human rights violations committed during Liberia’s conflicts from January 1979 to August 2003.

Six bills have been submitted to Legislature which is in the process of considering them and deciding what version of the court, if any, they will pass. Stakeholders say there is still considerable opposition from some lawmakers.

Stakeholders and the international community are urging the Legislature to pass a bill by December when Liberia takes its rotating seat in the presidency of the United Nations Security Council and the world’s eyes will be on it. They said it will give Liberia a chance to present a new face to the world to replace images of child soldiers that dominated global news coverage during the war.

The survey was part of a national survey of 1,150 people in 11 of Liberia’s 15 counties. Across the country, the number mirrored that in Nimba. Nine in every 10 people interviewed said they wanted to see a court.

For many Nimbaians, the issue is not simply about punishing individuals. It is also about knowing what happened to victims, establishing responsibility and ensuring that the violence of Liberia’s past is not repeated.

Madam Yah Dumbar spoke about the ongoing trauma of Liberia’s wars. She described how she and other people were forced to flee; walking barefoot from Gbarnga to Nimba, while seeing atrocities committed by ULIMO-K forces.

“The people came there, they destroyed so many things from us,” said Madam Dumbar. “I left from in Gbarnga with night gown, with one under cloth to come in Nimba, without wearing slipper. Some of our children them left in water [drowned]. They started catching us on the road and killing your husband and children in front of you.”

Her account reflects a broader sentiment expressed by participants: they said their support for a court is not driven by revenge, but by a desire for accountability and historical truth.

Advocates in Nimba welcomed the survey findings.

“Once ninety persons agreed for the War and Economic Crimes Court to come, it means that the advocacy we being doing it means that we are making progress,” said Carlton Zayzay, 39. And he had a warning for opponents.

“Those remaining ones that say War and Economic Crimes Court should not come in Liberia; it means that those people were not affected during the war time. Or those people don’t know about war. It means those people parents were not here.”  

Joseph G. Suah, an attorney-at-law at the Eighth Judicial Circuit Court in Sanniquellie said the court would set important precedents for accountability and help strengthen the country’s justice system. “

“Nobody will commit crime and just go free. If you commit crime, you need to be given a due process of law,” Suah said. “And those that all involved should be arrested and go to court let them explain themselves as they have been accused.”

The survey also carried a warning for Nimba’s lawmakers including Nyah Garmie Flomo, Ernest Manseah, Samuel N. Brown Sr., Nehker E. Gaye, Kortor Kwagrue, Dorwohn Twain Gleekia, Musa Hassan Bility, Saye S. Mianah, Taa Z. Wongbe and senators Nya D. Twayen Jr. who will be seeking reelection in 2029. The overwhelming number of survey participants said they would not vote for them again if they did not support a court. Just seven said they would.

“I will not vote for any representative who will say no to the establishment of the War and Economic Crimes court,” said Zayzay. “They are on their way already before 2029 if they don’t pass the bill.”  

The survey also exposed potentially misleading statements on the part of lawmakers. They went on break in July without passing the war crimes court bill claiming they needed to consult their constituents before the house reopened in October. But of the 100 people interviewed, just three said they had heard of any consultation by their senators or representatives about the proposed legislation.

Nyah Garmie Flomo, Sr., Nimba County District Two representative, said he supports the establishment of the court but admitted that he has not consulted constituents. Flomo said that he and colleagues will consult constituents once they have a chance to understand it.

“I have a plan: before our break can be over, certainly I will be having engagement with my people and one of the things we will be discussing is the War and Economic Crimes Court,” said Flomo. “If, for example, a document is introduced, you need to fully understand the document because you have to explain to your people. So, a document that was introduced to us about two months ago, you don’t expect all of the lawmakers on their feet passing with the document.”

Nimba citizens are watching what happens next. But experts say the message from the survey is clear: pass the law, consult the people and move Liberia’s long-delayed search for justice forward or pay a price in the next election.

This story is a collaboration with New Narratives as part of the “Investigating Liberia” project. Funding was provided by the Swedish Embassy in Liberia. The funder had no say in the story’s content.