A public war of words has erupted over the Boakai administration’s handling of Liberia’s latest cocaine seizure, with Gbarpolu County Senator Amara Konneh accusing government of scapegoating juniors and shielding seniors, and LWSC Managing Director Mo Ali firing back that the opposition is applying double standards and politicizing an active international investigation.
In a statement titled, “The Danger of Silence in the Cocaine Investigation,” Senator Konneh said Liberia’s justice system is compromised by a disturbing pattern.
“Whenever multimillion-dollar cocaine syndicates are uncovered, junior security officers are promptly suspended or dismissed, often without due process,” Konneh wrote adding, “Meanwhile, senior officials who supervise them remain in their positions, protected and even authorized to supervise investigations into their own institutions.”
He called it “the double standard.” Konneh went on, “Small officers are sacrificed to create a false media spectacle, while the true architects walk free.” He compared the current case to the previous administration’s $100 million narcotics case, arguing public trust is eroding.
“When senior officials remain untouched and junior officers are scapegoated, it is clear that the fight against narcotics is driven by political convenience rather than national security,” he said. “No nation can win a drug war when its own institutions are compromised.”
He also condemned calls for critics to “watch their mouths,” saying such warnings “intensify the culture of fear and impunity that has weakened Liberia for years.”
Citing the impact on youth and strain on the northern border with Guinea, Konneh accused the government of “protecting a cartel network.”
“Removing officials without presenting them before a judge directly undermines the rule of law,” he added. “If security officials who have been removed are not held to the same legal standards as ordinary officers, then ‘Kush Must Go’ was never a genuine policy. It was nothing more than a slogan.”
Meanwhile, LWSC Managing Director and Unity Party stalwart Mo Ali has sharply responded accusing Senator Konneh of hypocrisy.
“You studied and lived in the United States, where it is well known that both junior and senior officers can be compromised by cartels,” Ali said. “But in every case, charges are brought only when evidence exists. No one is indicted on insinuation alone. To claim otherwise in Liberia while applying a different standard abroad is the very definition of Double Standard.”
On the claim of “silence,” Ali argued the opposite is true: “Since the bust, you, Senator Edwin Snowe, Rodney Sieh, and CDC partisans have been the loudest voices across social media, radio, and television. You have published countless articles without restriction. The truth is not that you are silenced, it is that you dislike being challenged when your insinuations lack facts. Moving forward, we will challenge every unsubstantiated claim. That is accountability, not censorship.”
Ali also defended the government’s engagement with international partners saying, “You argue that government is dismissive of an international drug bust. Yet you know full well that FBI agents, American DEA experts, Homeland Security officers, and investigators from Morocco and the Netherlands are actively engaged in this case. To ignore these facts and accuse government of dismissal is again double standard, revealing your intent to politicize rather than solve the problem.
“Ultimately, society will judge us not by your words but by our actions. In Sierra Leone, Nigeria, and other countries, similar busts were celebrated as victories for security forces. Only in Liberia do you attempt to brand such a success as failure. Senator, stop the false alarms. Liberia’s fight against drugs will continue, and the cartels will be dismantled.”
The exchange highlights growing tension over how Liberia prosecutes narcotics cases. With international agencies reportedly involved in the current investigation, both sides agreed on one point: the credibility of the justice system is on the line.
