EDITORIAL: Why Reshuffling LDEA Leadership Won’t Fix the Real Problems

THE DISMISSAL of Liberia Drug Enforcement Agency (LDEA) Director General Anthony K. Souh and his top deputies — Gwee Forkpa and Sebastian Farr — is the latest in a long line of leadership shakeups at one of the country’s most embattled institutions.

ANNOUNCED ON August 28, President Joseph Boakai said the move was for “administrative reasons.” But beyond the official language lies a more troubling truth — Liberia’s war on drugs is being lost not because of a lack of political appointments, but because of a system so broken that replacing individuals does little to address the underlying rot.

THE LDEA is not just another government agency. It stands at the frontline of a national emergency that has morphed from a health crisis into a full-blown security threat. Liberia is awash with narcotics, its youth ensnared in addiction, and entire neighborhoods reduced to zones of criminality and despair.

AT THE center of this storm is an agency meant to protect the nation from the grip of drugs. But far from being a pillar of enforcement, the LDEA has become a symbol of dysfunction, infighting, and deep-rooted corruption.

PRESIDENT BOAKAI came into office promising to prioritize the anti-drug fight, but nearly two years in, his administration is still struggling to stabilize the very institution tasked with carrying out that mission. The constant reshuffling of LDEA leadership — with directors dismissed, deputies suspended, and interim teams rotated in — has paralyzed the agency.

THERE HAS been no continuity of strategy, no sustained momentum, and no rebuilding of public trust. Every few months, a new face is installed, and the old problems return. The latest interim team, composed of officers seconded from the Liberia National Police and National Security Agency, is yet another temporary fix that lacks the political insulation and institutional grounding to deliver long-term reform.

THE CURRENT crisis did not begin with Souh. It has been years in the making. In early 2024, President Boakai appointed Abraham Kromah to lead the agency. His tenure was short-lived but eventful. Kromah’s leadership descended into chaos following a bitter feud with his deputy, Hassan Fadiga.

WHAT BEGAN as administrative disagreements quickly became a public spectacle, with Fadiga accusing Kromah of tribal favoritism, protecting drug traffickers, and violating established procedures. Kromah, in turn, charged Fadiga with insubordination and leaking classified information.

THE SITUATION spiraled further when Fadiga allegedly brandished a firearm inside the agency compound, leading to police intervention. It was a moment that encapsulated the disintegration of order within the LDEA.

THE DAMAGE was not limited to personnel drama. The fallout from the Kromah-Fadiga dispute led to a loss of confidence among international partners. The United States and the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime — both critical supporters of Liberia’s anti-drug efforts — quietly withdrew funding and assistance.

IT WAS a clear signal that the global community no longer saw the LDEA as a credible partner. President Boakai eventually dismissed Kromah, Fadiga, and their fellow deputy Gbawou Kowou, hoping to reset the agency’s leadership. But what followed under Anthony K. Souh proved to be more of the same.

RATHER THAN stabilizing the agency, Souh’s leadership was soon engulfed in new controversies. His own deputy, Sebastian Farr, authored a damning internal report that accused two senior officers of carrying out illegal operations, using unregistered weapons, extorting suspects, and leaking confidential information.

FARR FURTHER alleged that these officers had tried to bribe him. He warned that morale among junior officers was crumbling, and that the public had lost confidence in the agency. Yet instead of being empowered to reform the institution, Farr too became entangled in the infighting and was ultimately dismissed alongside the very individuals he had accused.

THIS PATTERN — of leadership cycling in and out with little change — reveals a deeper institutional failure. The real problem is not who leads the LDEA, but what kind of institution they are asked to lead. At its core, the LDEA is structurally broken. More than half of its personnel are unpaid volunteers. These individuals, lacking training and financial support, are expected to confront increasingly sophisticated and well-funded drug trafficking networks.

THIS IMBALANCE is not just a question of effectiveness; it is a question of fairness and safety. Volunteers cannot be held to professional standards if they are not given the resources, training, or protections that a functioning law enforcement officer requires.

AND THEN there is the issue of complicity. Gwee Forkpa, one of the recently dismissed deputies, shocked the nation when he stated at a Ministry of Information briefing that drug trafficking is enabled by actors across all three branches of government. According to him, “when you’re fighting drugs, you’re fighting people everywhere.” His statement was a chilling confirmation of what many in the public already believed — that the problem is not just at the street level, but within the corridors of power.

HIS REMARKS were not without precedence. In 2022, LDEA Commander Martha Massaley testified before the House of Representatives that a sitting legislator had been caught trafficking drugs but faced no consequences. She collapsed before completing her statement and never returned to provide further testimony.

THAT INCIDENTS, combined with Forkpa’s allegations, paints a grim picture of high-level impunity. Despite the gravity of these claims, there have been no meaningful investigations, no arrests, and no efforts to publicly account for the accusations.

ALL THE while, the drug crisis worsens. According to a 2023 UNFPA study, one in five Liberian youth use narcotics. Monrovia alone has more than 866 known drug dens, many operating with apparent impunity. The drug economy has become a parallel system, undermining the legitimate economy and feeding into a broader culture of violence, theft, and social decay.

PRESIDENT BOAKAI’S government has promised funding for treatment and rehabilitation, but implementation has been painfully slow. Of the US$3.5 million pledged earlier this year, only a fraction has reached service providers. Just 163 individuals have reportedly received treatment through government support — a fraction of those in need.

INTO THIS chaos stepped the interim leadership team: DCP Fitzgerald T. M. Biago, NSA’s Ernest T. Tarpeh, and ACP Patrick B. Kormazu. While these men bring experience and order, they are not miracle workers. Their assignment is to stabilize a broken agency in just 90 days. But even the most competent leadership cannot reform a structure built on dysfunction, especially if they are operating under the same political pressures and systemic constraints that crippled their predecessors.

HISTORY is not on their side.

LIBERIA HAS had interim teams before, and in most cases, they served merely to buy time rather than enact real reform. What Liberia needs now is not another round of replacements. It needs a transformation. The LDEA must be professionalized, depoliticized, and adequately funded. A transparent and independent process must be established for appointing its leaders — one that is based on merit, not loyalty or tribal affiliation.

ALLEGATIONS OF drug trafficking involving high-ranking officials must be investigated seriously and publicly, no matter the cost. The agency’s reliance on unpaid volunteers must end, and a robust accountability mechanism must be introduced to ensure public trust is rebuilt.

FURTHERMORE, Liberia must actively work to restore its standing with international partners. The global community has resources, expertise, and funding to offer — but only to institutions that demonstrate integrity and competence. Regaining this trust will require action, not words. Interim teams may maintain basic order, but only courageous reforms will save the LDEA from permanent irrelevance.

LIBERIA STANDS at a dangerous crossroads. The cost of inaction is not theoretical — it is already being paid in overdoses, broken homes, rising crime, and lost futures. The LDEA, in its current state, cannot meet the challenge. Leadership reshuffles are not enough. The Boakai administration must commit to systemic change or risk presiding over a crisis that will define a generation.

THE TIME for temporary solutions is over. Liberia must choose between meaningful reform and continued collapse. Its youth, its communities, and its future depend on that choice.