Margibi County—The Government of Liberia, through the Liberia Anti-Corruption Commission (LACC), has indicted several persons, including former and current officials of the Margibi County Health Team and businessmen, on charges of Economic Sabotage, theft of property, tampering with public records, criminal facilitation, and criminal conspiracy.
By Yawah Y. Jaivey, Contributor
The Liberia Anti-Corruption Commission (LACC), in pursuant to Section 5.1 and 5.2 of its 2022 Act, through the Grand Jury of Margibi County sitting in its February Term, A.D. 2024, has indicted twelve (12) persons.
According to the indictment, which is in the possession of FrontPageAfrica, the defendants are being jointly charged to answer to the alleged crimes which stem from financial improprieties and kickbacks by officials of Margibi County Health Team, involving the sum of US$188,978.86 from a USAID-funded project intended to improve the healthcare delivery service for citizens of Margibi County.
Two of the defendants, Leroy Dorwarzia and William Johnson, were arrested on Friday, March 8, and are currently detained at the Kakata Central Prison based on the indictment drawn against them, while the remaining defendants are still at large.
The indictees include: Augustine N. Fannieh, former County Health Officer; Leroy Dorwazia, former County Health Services Administrator; Dornuu Horace, former Procurement Officer; William Johnson, County Logistic Officer; Roland Reeve, former County Finance Officer; Ernest Flahn, County Logistic Officer; and Thomas M. Bonard, County Diagnostic Officer. Others are Barkolleh Kollie, General Manager of M.J.K. Business Center; Vamuyen Traore, General Manager of Bio-Medical Link; A. Mohammad Dunor, General Manager of M.D. Capital Reliable Link; Odoshall Oldpa Karnue, General Manager of God’s Willing Inc.; and Momo K. Miller, General Manager of Children Father Business Center.
The indictment was drawn based on the outcome of a full-scale investigation conducted by the Liberia Anti-Corruption Commission (LACC). The LACC’s probe was triggered by a corruption exposé on the Margibi County Health Team by a FrontPageAfrica report.
The then Margibi County Health Officer (CHO), Dr. Augustine Nyankun Fannieh, and other senior staff of the County Health Team were heard on a leaked audio orchestrating how to divert funds meant to facilitate health activities in the county for personal use, in collusion with vendors.
The leaked audio implicating the Margibi County Health Team administrators in financial impropriety surfaced at the time when the United States Agency for International Development (USAID), through the Ministry of Health (MOH) Fixed Amount Reimbursement Agreement (FARA) Program, was providing annual financial support of US$801,693.00 to the Margibi Health System.
The FARA program supports the cost of implementing components of the Essential Package of Health Services that promote family planning, maternal and child health, and malaria prevention and treatment at 24 health facilities across Margibi.
Following the publication, the then Minister of Health, Dr. Wilhemina Jallah, announced the recall of all members of the Margibi Health Team implicated in the leaked audio. According to Dr. Jallah, those implicated were turned over to the Liberia Anti-Corruption Commission (LACC) for further investigation.
Dr. Jallah stated at the time that the alleged actions of these staff amounted to corruption, vowing that those who would be exonerated would be reassigned, while those found liable would be forwarded to court for prosecution.
In response to the report, the United States Embassy in Monrovia commended FrontPageAfrica for the exposé and expressed concerns over the misappropriation of American taxpayers’ money intended to support health initiatives in the county.
In a brief statement, the Embassy stated:
“The United States Mission to Liberia expresses serious concerns about the report in the February 2, 2023 edition of Frontpage Africa Newspaper regarding the misuse of funds provided by the United States Government to support healthcare for the people of Margibi County. We have a special responsibility to ensure that money provided by United States taxpayers for the benefit of the people of Liberia, including the people of Margibi, is used for its intended purpose. We commend the investigative journalism that brought this story to light and appreciate the swift action by the Ministry of Health to make immediate changes while investigating the matter. The USAID Mission to Liberia will decide whether to retain Margibi as part of USAID’s government-to-government agreement pending a transparent investigation and associated actions to hold accountable anyone involved in the misuse of any U.S. government funds.”
At the same time, the United States, through its embassy in Monrovia, called on the Government of Liberia, through the Liberia Anti-Corruption Commission (LACC), to prosecute the Margibi County Health Team officials and all those linked to the misuse of U.S. health funds to the fullest extent of the law if they (GoL) need more health support from them.