Jackson K. Kolako says he was detained for six days after resisting an unlogged, after-hours visit to an inmate linked to Liberia’s multi-million-dollar narcotics case
By Rodney D. Sieh, [email protected]
MONROVIA — Jackson K. Kolako, Deputy Superintendent for Operations at the Monrovia Central Prison (MCP), has gone public with a detailed account of his August 1 arrest, alleging he was detained for nearly a week and pressured to surrender his phones and passwords after he tried to enforce standard visitation procedures during an unannounced visit to an inmate connected to Liberia’s ongoing multi-million-dollar drug case.
Kolako’s account, posted publicly and addressed to several Liberian media outlets and journalists, has not been independently verified by FrontPageAfrica. It represents his version of events. FrontPageAfrica has reached out to the officials named in the statement for comment and will update this story with any response.
What Kolako says happened
According to his statement, the episode began around 1:30 p.m. on August 1, when two individuals identifying themselves as National Security Agency (NSA) agents arrived at MCP wearing shorts — attire he says is prohibited inside the facility — and declined to log their names or purpose in the visitor book, citing a “covert” mission to interview an inmate tied to the drug case.
Kolako says that while prison staff worked to verify the visitors’ identities, two senior corrections officials not assigned to MCP arrived and overrode standard entry procedures, with one allegedly declaring, “We make the law, and we can break the law.”
He says he asked whether the MCP’s Chief Superintendent and the Assistant Minister for Corrections had been notified, was told they had not, and was informed the visit was authorized above the Ministry of Justice’s Corrections Department. Kolako says he then called both officials — Chief Superintendent Colonel Roosevelt Varney and Assistant Minister Gabriel Fayiah Ndupellar — who told him they had no prior knowledge of the visit.
Kolako says he ordered the inmate in question, who had been outside for exercise, back to his housing unit, and resumed his regular duties overseeing roughly 1,800 inmates and nearly 100 officers.
The arrest
Kolako alleges that Siafa Bahn Kemokai then arrived at MCP with several Liberia National Police (LNP) officers and ordered his arrest — in what Kolako describes as a calculated attempt to provoke prison officers into resisting, which he feared could have triggered unrest that inmates might exploit to attempt an escape. He says he left the scene without incident to avoid his officers witnessing the arrest.
He says he was taken to LNP headquarters, where he was held from August 1 to August 7 without a formal statement being taken. On August 3, he alleges he was compelled — in the presence of senior Ministry of Justice prison officials, NSA agents, and LNP’s Unit 105 — to have his mobile phones brought in and to surrender his passwords. That evening, he says he was accused of cartel membership and of receiving payments from drug traffickers, allegations he denies.
Kolako says he refused an instruction to go home that night, choosing to remain in custody until he felt his safety was assured, and used the time to alert coworkers and family to his situation. He says he was released on August 7 and handed a suspension letter alleging he had disrupted an inmate interview involving an external security agency — a charge he disputes, noting he does not drink or smoke and questioning why he was referred to LNP custody rather than the Ministry of Justice’s internal disciplinary board.
His background and appeal
In his statement, Kolako describes twelve years in law enforcement following nine years as a classroom teacher and three as a National Transit Authority conductor, saying his net monthly salary never exceeded US$224 and that he has maintained what he calls an unblemished record.
He named four individuals he asked the public to keep in mind as the matter is investigated: Siafa Bahn Kemokai, Lawrence G. Bohlen, Samuel Lance Jasper, and Raymond A. Messan.
Kolako closed his statement with an appeal to Attorney General and Minister of Justice Cllr. Oswald N. Tweh, NSA head Rt. Gen. Prince C. Johnson, Minister of National Defense Rt. Gen. Geraldine Janet George Johnson, LNP head Col. Gregory O. Coleman, Sarah Beslow Nyanti, and the U.S. Embassy in Monrovia, asking that detainees held in connection with the multi-million-dollar drug case be moved to a secure holding facility abroad — he suggested Morocco — pending trial, to avoid undermining the Boakai administration’s anti-drug campaign.
Context
Kolako’s statement surfaces amid a broader shake-up tied to Liberia’s cocaine trafficking scandal, which has already led to the dismissal of several officials, including a former Roberts International Airport deputy and, separately, two immigration officers allegedly caught with narcotics crossing from Sierra Leone in March. It also comes as the government pursues the IB Atlantic IV, a cargo vessel suspected of links to the same drug case, which was recently arrested in Ivory Coast.
FrontPageAfrica has not confirmed the identities or roles of the individuals named in Kolako’s account beyond what is stated in his own statement, and could not independently verify claims regarding the inmate visit, the arrest, or the conditions of his detention. This newspaper has sought comment from the Ministry of Justice, the National Security Agency, and the Liberia National Police, and will update this story as responses are received.
