
The US Trial of accused Liberian warlord, Laye Sekou Camara, alias “K-1” or “Dragon Master”
By Anthony Stephens with New Narratives
has been called off after he pleaded guilty to criminal immigration fraud charges.
A former commander of a rebel group, Mr. Camara, 46, was due to go on trial on January 21st in a US District Court in the state of Philadelphia on a range of charges, including lying that he “had never served in or been a member of a rebel group or insurgent organization.” All 17 Liberian witnesses against him are currently in the US, having flown from Liberia, but they will not get a chance to testify against him for his war related crimes, which he has admitted to committing. But activists celebrated Mr. Camara’s decision.
“This is a victory for the courageous victims of Liberia’s brutal civil wars,” said Mr. Hassan Bility, director of Global Justice and Research Project, which together with Civitas Maxima, its Swiss partner, have helped to gather evidence used by American and European prosecutors in trials related to Liberia’s civil wars. “Warlords who have evaded justice for so long, can no longer use the tactic of fear to perpetuate impunity.”
Mr. Camara’s plea bargain was entered during a pretrial conference/hearing, a gathering involving prosecution and defense lawyers before the start of a trial. Mr. Camara faced 40 years in jail and a fine of $250,000 had he had been found guilty of the charges. His action now leaves the judge with the only option of sentencing him, an action expected to be taken in May. The plea bargain by Mr. Camara, who was arrested in 2022, could have been made after he saw the outcomes of the trials of two ex-Liberian warlords: Mohammed Jabateh, commonly known as “Jungle Jabba” and Tom Woewiyu, who were all found guilty of similar crimes. Jabateh is serving a 30-year sentence, while Woewiyu, who had been found guilty, was awaiting his sentence when he died of Covid complications in 2020. Mr. Camara was a top commander for the Liberians United for Reconciliation and Democracy (Lurd), one of two warring factions that forced Charles Taylor, the then Liberian president, to resign as lurd laid siege on the capital Monrovia. The Movement for Democracy Reconstruction and Development was the other rebel group. Lurd was accused of committing 18,797 or 12 percent of all crimes reported to Liberia’s Truth and Reconciliation Commission. He would have been the first Lurd commander to have stood trial of war related crimes committed in Liberia in a foreign court.
Mr. Camara will likely be deported to Liberia after serving his sentence. This has renewed calls for Liberia to fast track its process of establishing a war and economic crimes court. The country has taken critical steps in establishing the court, including a resolution by the Legislature for the court and President Boakai’s decision to setup an office for it. Mr. Bility wants efforts for the court, expected to be based in Liberia, to be accelerated.
“We call on the government of Liberia to take quick action and provide the war crimes court with the resources it needs to allow victims to seek justice here in Liberia,” said Mr. Bility in a WhatsApp message. “And we ask that they ensure victims are empowered and protected in the process.”
his story is a collaboration with New Narratives as part of the West Africa Justice Reporting Project. Funding was provided by the Swedish embassy in Liberia. The funder had no say in the story’s content.