Monrovia – The CDC Council of Patriots (CDC-COP) has issued a stern warning to the Boakai-Koung government, threatening to “physically, patriotically, and brutally resist” the administration if it fails to indict some of its top public officials for their alleged involvement in recent corruption crimes, similar to the actions being taken against former officials of the CDC government.
The warning from the CDC-COP, a civil rights movement, came a day after former Security Advisor to Ex-President George Weah, Jefferson Karmoh, was sent to jail by the Monrovia City Court on charges of economic sabotage. Karmoh was arrested along with several other top officials of the Weah-Taylor administration, including former Finance Minister Samuel D. Tweah, former Solicitor General Cllr. Nyenati Tuan, former Comptroller of the Financial Intelligence Unit D. Moses P. Cooper, and former Director General of the Financial Intelligence Agency Stanley Ford.
Mr. Tweah, who is reportedly out of the country in neighboring Côte d’Ivoire, described the charges and the subsequent arrest of his co-defendants as a “total witch hunt” in a Facebook post, assuring his supporters that he would clear his name and expose the Unity Party administration’s political motivations.
At a press conference in Monrovia on Tuesday, July 30, 2024, CDC-COP Chairperson Ben Believe Togba echoed these sentiments, calling the indictments a political witch hunt and a recipe for chaos. Togba accused the Unity Party (UP) government of weaponizing the rule of law to target political opponents selectively.
“This is totally wrong, and we want to inform Mr. Boakai and his Unity Party that we will follow this process closely, and any attempt to undermine it will be resisted vehemently,” Togba declared.
Togba alleged that several top officials in the Boakai administration had engaged in criminal activities over the past seven months but had not been held accountable. He cited the alleged mismanagement of $650,000 in inauguration funds by Madam Miatta Fahnbulleh, who he claimed had avoided submitting to an Internal Audit Agency investigation.
“While under investigation, Mr. Boakai awarded and recognized this woman, suggesting that stealing is accepted in the mansion today. Since January 22, 2024, the regime has refused to fund this simple investigation,” Togba added.
He also pointed to the appointment of UP National Chair Rev. Luther Tarpeh as Board Chair of the National Port Authority, despite allegations linking him to the theft of $360,000 from the district’s inauguration fund.
Togba named Mr. Bill McGill Jones, Deputy Minister at the Finance Ministry, as another official with a questionable character. He alleged that Deputy Minister Jones was involved in illegal activities, including increasing payments for kickbacks, and defrauding the Liberian people of $20,000 by inflating an invoice from $180,000 to $200,000.
Despite these reports of ongoing corruption, Togba said there had been no investigation, and Minister Jones remained free without any indictment. He also highlighted the reported withdrawal of over $550,000 from the National Social Security Cooperation of Liberia (NASSCORP) by Minister of State Sylvester M. Grigsby to purchase vehicles for the president and the spending of $22.4 million on contracts in what he called the largest road rehabilitation scandal in Liberia’s history.
“Boakai’s Public Works, Finance, and Justice Ministers violated the PFM law and Article 34(d) of the Constitution of Liberia. They admitted guilt of mismanagement and pleaded for an illegal pardon from the Liberian Senate. We demand a full investigation and prosecution of these three officials of Boakai’s cabinet,” Togba stressed.
The CDC-COP also accused Liberia Petroleum Refinery Company Managing Director Amos Tweh and Liberia National Police Inspector General Col. Gregory Coleman of soliciting a $15.7 million loan from Ecobank without legislative approval, calling it a gross violation of the Constitution and the Public Financial Management Law.
Additionally, Togba criticized the Senate under Pro-tempore Nyonblee Karnga-Lawrence, who also served as Unity Party Campaign Manager, for wastefully spending over $700,000 on a Senate retreat in Buchanan without any legal action taken.
He also brought up the controversy surrounding 285 pieces of earth-moving equipment imported without legislative consent or proper documentation, among other concerns.
Togba described the UP regime as a cesspool of corruption and accused the government of deceiving the public while targeting former CDC officials as a mockery and an empty bluff.
The CDC-COP called on the international community to take note of the actions of the UP government and warned against allowing the situation to escalate into a crisis before intervening.
“The Boakai-Koung administration has deliberately broken all the laws, and you have said nothing. We assure the world that we will never allow this regime to falsely imprison political opponents without due process,” Togba emphasized.
