By. Wonderr K. Freeman, CFCS

Whenever counting and naming are mentioned in the same sentence, it is not surprising to have a flashback to the old Christian hymn with lyrics: count your many blessings, name them one by one, and it will surprise you what the Lord has done. Feeling my “preacherman” vibes, I choose to reflect on this Christian hymn and mention “counting and naming” in the same sentence. But sadly, I’m not going to talk about “blessings”. I prefer to think of it as scandals. Some might even go as far as calling it a curse. Let us just be honest with ourselves for once. Did Liberians (who wear their Christianity on their foreheads) really expect “blessings” after voting for a frail Deacon who told them (long ahead of time) that he was willing to dance with the Devil to win the Presidency? In the Christian tradition, there is an established maxim that the devil gives nothing for free. In the Bible, Christians are, in fact, urged to “Resist the Devil”. But during the [2023] election, many Liberians who profess to be Christian thought dancing with the Devil was a very good political strategy.  They say it was a smart move, politically. So, in deciding who to run the country, they voted for the Deacon and his “Devil” partner, and, by extension, they voted for the Devil’s budget mafia lieutenant – Jeremiah Koung, a Senator who made his riches ripping off the Liberian people.

After the Ellen years, Mr. Boakai should have been consigned to the annals of history. But, thanks to loans from International Bank, financial support from Benoni Urey, collaboration from moneyman Alexander Cummings, free public relations (PR) from Henry Costa, and a generous contribution from convicted fraudster Stanton Witherspoon, Mr. Boakai not only escaped destitution but also emerged as a prominent figure in the [2023] election. In a surprising twist, Liberians voted for the man who openly admitted to squandering opportunities. It remains a puzzle to me, how a man, who couldn’t account for US$16.5m in US aid (during his tenure at LPMC in the 1980s), a man who played a key role in securing 66 out of 68 dubious concession deals (2005-2017), somehow, became Liberia’s latest savior – affectionately known as Rescue-1 – leading the Unity Party to a remarkable comeback in the Liberian election of 2023. Suddenly, this self-proclaimed squanderer transformed into Liberia’s Knight in Shining Armor, destined to rescue Liberia from the self-inflicted wound that some refer to as the George Weah presidency.

Unity Party Lofty Campaign Promises

During the campaign (2023), the UP’s propaganda machinery went into overdrive. Let’s look at some of the words they used to convince Liberians to vote for their beloved “JNB”. Below are words used in the UP Platform of 2023 (p. 51) to describe then-candidate Joseph Boakai

• He loves Liberia and has loyalty to no other country
• He is honest and possesses an excellent public service record
• He is competent
• He is a leader and thinks of the greater good of the country
• He is a patriotic statesman with clean hands (from war and corruption)

Of course, after nearly six months of Joseph Boakai’s presidency, a few things are now crystal clear. Firstly, Joseph Boakai is super incompetent. Apparently, serving as number two to Ellen Johnson-Sirleaf really concealed Mr. Boakai’s gross leadership inadequacies, ineptitude, and incompetence. Secondly, we now know that Mr. Boakai is definitely not an honest person. His behavior surrounding his failure to make his assets disclosure public shows that he’s not an honest person. Thirdly, his silence in the face of reeking corruption in his nascent UP regime further wipes out any thought of him as an honest and capable leader. Fourthly, he does not love Liberia and definitely does not think of the greater good of the country. Lastly, as for clean hands, this is laughable. Mr. Boakai’s hands are no cleaner than Mr. George Weah’s fantastically corrupt hands. Yeah, George Weah! Remember that Buga-dancing playboy pastor and Reggae musician (aka Mr. Liar Man) who just exited our Executive Mansion? Mr. Boakia started being dishonest, deceptive, and corrupt even before he set foot in the Executive Mansion. Just imagine UP’s audacity to describe Mr. Boakai as having “clean hands.” Does Joseph Boakai really have “clean hands”? Lord have mercy! Time really does have a way of making all things clear. Time has caught up with Mr. Boakai’s claims of being an honest man.

On the anti-graft front, again, Mr. Boakai and his Unity Party promised so much. Below are excerpts from the UP’s campaign platform (2023), p. 49-50.

[Their] Commitment (6.0, Pillar Six: The Fight Against Corruption)

The UP-led government is absolutely committed to the uncompromising fight against corruption to restore integrity and accountability in the governance system. We shall uphold integrity in the economic management of the country’s …resources…. The government shall commit all public servants and officials to a high standard of transparency and accountability and ensure efficient management of public resources of government ministries and agencies. Our government shall be committed to a strong and independent judiciary and justice system to enforce the laws and regulations and hold both public and private actors accountable for their actions. UP-led government shall pursue a clean governance process that will be based on meritocracy, inclusiveness, proper assets management, and strong cultural and ethical principles

[Their] Commitment (6.1 Strengthen Integrity Institutions and Hold Public Official Accountable)  

 UP-led government shall adopt a zero-tolerance policy on corruption across government, civil society, and the private sector, and will not compromise the fight against corruption on the “alter of reconciliation”.

Five months into Joseph Boakai’s presidency, we now know that these statements were all lies. Of course, some of us refused to buy into the UP lies. But, as a nation, the majority swallowed these lies wholesale. A mere five months later, regrets have started to kick in – with the likes of Yekeh Kolubah, John Morlu, and Martin Kollie – jumping off the Rescue Train. To me, it’s too late. Liberia’s future has been mortgaged for another six years.  Not only is Boakai a sham, but his next in line to the “throne”, Mr. Jeremiah Koung, and a true and true budget mafia kingpin, who looted the country shoulder-to-shoulder with the likes of Thomas Fallah, Emmanuel Nuquay, and Prince Y. Johnson, Prince Moye and a whole host of “legislators” too many to mention here.

Having established that UP lied to the Liberian people, and that Mr. Joseph Boakai is just as corrupt as the man he constantly criticized and eventually replaced, it is necessary to take stock of Mr. Boakai and his Unity Party’s avalanche of scandals.  As bad as the presidency of the Buga-dancing playboy pastor was, merely five months into the Boakai’s presidency, Boakai looks set to eclipse George Weah’s corruption-spree record – all this in barely 150 days in power. So, I have a lineup of Unity Party and Mr. Boakai’s list of scandals by the numbers, and I will continue to update this list as more scandals unfold.

22,000,000

USD 22m illegal expenditure by the Ministry of Public Works (MPW). That’s the amount of money (US dollars) spent on contracts to local crony capitalists to recondition mud roads, which contract was given out in violation of Liberia’s public procurement laws (PPCC), Public Financial Management law (PFM) and also without Legislative approval – a requirement equally mandated by our constitution. Mr. Roland L. Giddings (the current Minister [MPW]), at a subsequent legislative hearing, confessed to being in violation of multiple laws on public procurement, budget, and finance. Sadly, our National Legislature decided to “forgive” Giddings and Company, instead of forwarding them to the Ministry of Justice or the LACC for further investigation and prosecution, It’s unclear which aspects of Liberian law provide forgiveness before conviction. “Yes, this too is Liberia!” “Legislative pardon” for screwing up US $22m. And our “Prezo” Mr. Boakai has not said a word. Apparently, this is a standard operating procedure for him

10,000,000

USD 10m illegal spending guarantee. The National Security Agency (NSA) receives about USD 10m every year – historically, about twice as much money given to the agriculture sector (comprising of 5-6 agencies). Over the course of a presidential term, that’s USD 60m. Liberia is yet to see the benefit of giving the NSA USD60m in 5-6 years. Not long after Mr. Boakai came to power, and after hearing of NSA corruption, which some of us frequently write about, Mr. Boakai decided that he would audit the NSA and a few other agencies. He made this announcement publicly. After a couple of weeks and rather Nicodemously, Mr. Boakai privately wrote to the GAC asking them to no longer audit the NSA, that they were immune from audit (i.e., top secret agency). It must be added that this notion that, after receiving the Liberia taxpayer’s USD 60m, the NSA is immune from audit is bonkers. Under the PFM law, not a single agency of the GOL is immune from audit. Such guarantees are illegal (plain and simple). Mr. Boakai, aka Mr. Clean Hands, who promised a break from business-as-usual, willingly handed the NSA a blank check for USD10m, while guaranteeing them that they shall never be audited. What do you think the NSA chiefs will do with that money after the President has assured them that they will NEVER be audited? That’s the man leading the Rescue Mission!

775,000

USD 775k bribery scandal in the election of House Speaker. Mr. Boakai, as President-elect, summoned 31 representatives to his house to ask them to vote for his party’s (UP) candidate for speaker, Mr. Richard Koon (Monts Rep. District #11). Mr. Boakai proceeded to offer each of the thirty-one representatives present a staggering amount of USD 25,000 per representative for “district development”. It is inconceivable that a man who claims to have 50 years of government experience will not know that this is broad-day bribery. Moreover, his attempt to illegally interfere in the election of a separate branch of government is a flagrant constitutional violation. Several representatives commented on the “offer”, notably, Mr. Nathaniel Bahway of Grand Kru County, District #1.

700,000

The House of Senate’s feast on the Liberian people’s money, under the guise of attending a “retreat”. In March 2024, the Liberian legislature approved an initial budget of USD 692m. After further discussions and review, they amended the initial projection to US$738. Under Liberian law and just by common sense, they are expected to publish this final budget and educate the population about its details. But, while not publicizing the budget, the Liberian Senate, under the leadership of UP’s Rescue Mother, Mrs. Nyonblee Karnga-Lawrence, and her special advisor, the Rescue Light, Darrius Dillon, the pair decided they got to be the first to start chopping. They hastily put together a “Rescue Retreat” and gulped down USD 700k over four days. Thanks to Rescue Rambo, Martin Kollie, the scandal was exposed and is now “trending”. The whole country is up in arms over their sheer greed. Why have they not published the final version of the budget? What does that say about the commitment to transparency and accountability? And What is Rescue-1 going to do about his Rescue official’s jamboree on the taxpayers’ money? Going by Mr. Boakai’s record since he’s been in power, it is a near certainty that he will “say nothing” and “do nothing”. So far, that is what he demonstrated his presidency to be.

650,000

USD 650k inauguration funds squandered. A veteran Liberia musician, Ms. Miatta Fahnbulleh, was put in charge of ensuring a successful inauguration of Mr. Joseph Boakai and Mr. Jeremiah Koung in January 2024. The inauguration events were very poorly managed and executed and partly contributed to Mr. President’s inability to complete his speech. Even Miatta Fahnbulleh admitted to the inauguration as a national disgrace, apologized and welcomed an audit[1]. But for Mr. Boakai, squandering opportunities is just another day at the office. Instead of audit, investigation, and possibly other corrective measures, on June 1, 2024, Mr. Boakai heaped praises on Ms. Fahnbulleh and congratulated her committee for a job well done. By congratulating Ms. Fahmbulleh and her committee, Mr. Boakai shows that he is detached from reality. Very sad, but “This too is Liberia!”

365,000

USD 365K in “shady money” from President-elect Boakai got swindled by “Rescue Officials”. Just after being announced as the winner of the Liberian presidential election, Mr. Boakai suddenly became awash with cash. First was his shady donation of USD 55k to fire victims in Bong County. And then, out of the clear blue sky, Boakai splashed out another USD365,000 for all provinces of Liberia to celebrate his win. Unity Party bigwigs, knowing this money to be corrupt money, did not hesitate to “get” their cut, “chopping” of USD 1,000 per district for party “operations”. Of course, it is still unknown where “Rescue-1” got this money from since it was definitely not part of the USD 650k inauguration funds that the Miatta Fahnbulleh committee also squandered. Mr. Boakai has refused to address this issue.

139,500

USD 139k House of Representative Bribery Scandal. Mr. Yekeh Kolubah (Monts. Co Rep. District #10) displayed a voucher for USD 4,500 furniture voucher per representative. The bribery was billed as a “unity incentive” for the Richard Koon bloc to keep them mobilized for the ultimate removal of Mr. Fonati Kofa, current House Speaker (Liberia). During the initial election, it was established that there were at least 31 representatives in Richard Koon’s bloc. Hence, the full financial effect on Liberia’s finances was USD 139.5k.  This was one of the most flagrant bribery allegations against a sitting president and scores of representatives. Today Mr. Clean Hands has chosen to remain silent on these damning allegations. He thinks he’s smarter than all of us combined. He thinks that if he stays silent for a long enough, we will forget. Quite unfortunate!

117,000

USD 117k in Illegal Donations from NASSCORP. Mr. Sylvester Grigsby made an illegal request to NASSCORP to purchase 5 Land Cruiser SUVs (totaling USD 195k), possible with the acquiescence of Mr. Boakai, then President-elect. News reports show that NASSCOPR agreed and issued a local purchase order (LPO) to CICA Motor for 3 “jeeps”. Mr. Boakai is yet to address these damning allegations of graft. Some of his apologists see nothing wrong. As they see it, what NASSCORP did was just CSR – corporate social responsibility. It doesn’t matter to them that what they call NASSCORP’s money is pensioners’ retirement investment that must be cared for in the most financially prudent manner possible. But Joseph Boakai and his UP government think they are smarter than the rest of us. Time will tell!

55,000

Boakai’s Donation of USD 55k in Illicit and Unexplained Wealth. After living mediocrely as a private citizen and acquiescing to living on a monthly allowance from the convicted fraudster, Stanton Witherspoon, recently elected Joseph Boakai, suddenly became “wealthy” and donated about USD55k to fire victims as an “initial” contribution. To date, Mr. Boakai, despite being challenged to reveal the sources of this money by Hon. Yekeh Kolubah (Rep, District #10, Monts. Co.), still refuses to disclose the source of his donation. This is another sad commentary ona man the Unity Party described in their campaign platform as having “clean hands”

285

285 Yellow Machines. After campaigning on fiscal responsibility and transparency, Mr. Boakai, via his office staff, and particularly his Deputy Ministry of State, Mamaka Bility, announced that 285 Chinese-built earth-moving equipment were on their way to Liberia. To which announcement, Mr. Boakai, retorted: “I told them not to put my pictures on the machines but to put “Think Liberia; Love Liberia; Built Liberia.” Our President and office staff decided to willfully proceed with the unconstitutional loan negotiation and unlawful extra-budgetary expenditure. With 19 machines allocated per country (i.e., totaling 285), it seems to violate the local government act which mandates local officials partake in such significant financial developments affecting their county. FrontPageAfrica website reports that machines have an estimated value of USD 30-50m. Mr. Boakai has shown time and again that he doesn’t care about the laws of the country, nor does he have respect for the doctrine of separation of power. He thinks that he can unilaterally obligate Liberia for up to US$ 50m without Legislative inputs and without broader stakeholders’ consultation.

101

101 Days of Willfully Violating His Campaign Promise to Disclose His Assets Publicly. For the past 101 days, Mr. Boakai has violated his own campaign promise. When you make a solemn promise, you keep it; it’s called integrity. By his actions on the assets disclosure issue, Mr. Boakai demonstrates for all the world what he thinks of public service integrity.  Mr. Boakai promised to govern differently. He promised a break from business-as-usual. He criticized ex-President George Weah for “shielding his assets from public scrutiny”. He criticized Mrs. Sirleaf, his former boss, for squandering opportunities. Now that he’s in power – for 101 days–President Boakai just cannot bring himself to live by his campaign promise – of transparency and accountability.

48

48 Hours to Disrespect and Undermine the Supreme Court. Within 48 losing his first major case at the Supreme Court (i.e., on tenure positions), Mr. Boakai decided to show utter disdain for the Supreme Court by suspending nearly a dozen officials protected by its ruling. President Boakai announced a range of trumped-up charges, suspended the officials (i.e., the officials the Supreme Court said he should not remove without cause) and then proceeded to appoint the very officials that ignited the case. This is a gross and distasteful abuse of the constitutional doctrine of separation of power, never before seen in Liberia – since 1847. This was not what the UP promised on judicial independence and respect for the rule of law. In the UP’s platform (Pillar 4, p. 38), while seeking power, they said that their government would “restore confidence in the judiciary and ensure transparency in the administration of law and justice”. Within 100 days of taking power, Mr. Boakai decided to attack and undermine the Court. By undermining the Supreme Court and gutting its ruling, Mr. Boakai displayed a very shameful betrayal of trust.

19

19 Days of Continuous Violation of the Code of Conduct Law by President Boakai. Despite taking an oath to respect and defend the constitution and law of the Republic of Liberia, and contrary to the Code of Conduct Act of (2014) – which calls for a declaration of one’s assets/liabilities before assuming office (i.e., Jan 22, 2024), Mr. Boakai kicked off his Presidency with illegality – by not declaring his assets/liabilities before taking office. It took 19 days and heavy noise from the public for the self-professed Mr. Clean Hands to disclose his assets to the LACC.  The time is coming when will learn the price of betrayal.

15

15% of Appointed Officials Have Declared Their Assets. Only a meagre 15% of officials appointed by Mr. Boakai and his Unity Party coalition have declared their assets – as required by law. Mr. Boakai was the first to violate this provision. And, by doing so, he gave his officials a signal that when it comes to asset disclosures, they should not worry about complying with the law. After all, this is something he doesn’t care about at all.

9

#9. Providing Sanctuary for [9] Sanctioned Officials. About nine (9) Liberian officials, past and current, were sanctioned by the US Government (US.Gov). for grand corruption in Liberia. For the record, the US Government does not make frivolous accusations, not in the USA, nor abroad. In the US, for example, in 2022, the US.Gov charged about 71,954 people with federal crimes[2]. At least 90% of defendants charged with crimes by federal prosecutors pled guilty. Yes, guilty as charged—no Contest! Stanton Witherspoon can relate. Another 2.3% take their chance in the courtroom, and out of that number, about 83% get convicted.[3] Effectively, this means less than 1% of people charged by the Feds and which case, ultimately, go to court and get acquitted[4]. That’s a success rate of 99%+. Now, these are the same Americans who sanctioned nine of our officials for corruption.  On the campaign trail, Mr. Boakai and his Unity Party advertised the vigorous pursuit of corrupt actors under the kleptocratic CDC regime. Instead of investigating and prosecuting where applicable, the likes of Emmanuel Nuquay, Prince Y. Johnson, Nathaniel McGill, Bill Tweahway, Albert Chie, etc., have become Unity Party’s “valuable” governing partners. The promised audit and investigation, which are in the public interest, will have to wait until 2029. This is sheer dishonesty and betrayal of public trust. There is a Liberian law – Mutual Legal Assistance Act (2014) – that allows the President to seek evidence from the US.Gov. Mr. Boakai, by virtue of his presidency, has the power to request such evidence. What is he waiting for? Or is this just another version of his dancing with the devil politics?

And finally, the big one, 800,000,000.  Yeah, 8 followed by 8 zeros – USD 800m. That’s approximately how much money our National Legislature has spent since 2006 while resisting all attempts at annual audits. By spending government money without yearly audits, many of them have become millionaires. When people work hard, they deserve riches, for sure. What about people who do no hard work but just allocate the government budget to themselves and become rich? What about people like Jeremiah Koung, Thomas Fallah, Saah Joseph, Prince Y. Johnson, Emmanuel Nuquay, Albert Chie, Edwin Snowe, etc.? Should we all just accept that this is a legitimate way of getting rich – by our legislators just ripping off the rest of us? How can we make progress as a nation when just a tiny minority of our compatriots “appropriate’ all the country’s money just for themselves? Mr. Boakai promised change. He promised audit and investigations. Five months (150 days) into his government, and we are yet to see his position regarding auditing our National Legislature for the $800m they’ve already spent. For heaven’s sake, everyone who gets government money has an obligation to account for such money under the PFM law. Our legislators think they are above the law. And even worse, our President, Mr. Boakai, seems to agree. By refusing to demand an audit of the National Legislature, Mr. Boakai is demonstrating his view on transparency and accountability. In this particular case, the price tag is just too high – $800m? This kind of corruption is mind-boggling even by African standards.

The Liberian political elites’ quixotic mission to fool all the people all the time

Our current crop of political elites must have forgotten that there was once a party in Liberia called the True Whig Party that fooled all Liberians for over a hundred years. And as the saying goes, even a hundred years is not forever. Then came 1980. The next batch of thieving leaders were not giving a hundred years. They didn’t get even ten. By 1989, our latest round of history lessons had already commenced. Even more, once upon a time, Dakpannah Dr. Charles Ghankay Taylor thought he was the only man with “balls” in Liberia – until a ragtag militia of Liberian refugees from bordering countries showed him that the genes for violence are ingrained in every man. Charles Taylor once thought he was the smartest man in Liberia. Today, after doing the crime, he’s doing the time [alone] in a cold British cell. I’m not advocating violence, and I am not suggesting war. I’m just restating Liberian history to those who think they can fool all of us all the time. Goat luck and sheep luck are not the same, as we say in Liberia. The Liberian people suffered and endured a whopping six years of pure “stealing” under Mr. George Weah and his violent cadres in the CDC. This does not necessarily mean they will tolerate another six years of thievery by Joseph Boakai and his kleptocratic cadres in the Unity Party. Stop taunting poverty-stricken Liberians with your extreme greed. It is plain idiotic and quixotic to think that you can fool all the Liberian people all the time. There is a hungry mob out there. Stop taunting them!

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[1] J,H Webster Clayeh, 2024, Liberia: Miatta Fahnbulleh Blames Legislature, Unity Party and CDC Govt for Poor Planning of Inaugural Program. https://frontpageafricaonline.com/news/liberia-miatta-fahnbulleh-blames-legislature-unity-party-and-cdc-govt-for-poor-planning-of-inaugural-program/, accessed on June 22, 2024

[2] John Gramlich, 2023, Fewer than 1% of federal criminal defendants were acquitted in 2022, accessed from, https://www.pewresearch.org/short-reads/2023/06/14

[3] [3] John Gramlich, 2023, Fewer than 1% of federal criminal defendants were acquitted in 2022, accessed from, https://www.pewresearch.org/short-reads/2023/06/14

[4] [4] John Gramlich, 2023, Fewer than 1% of federal criminal defendants were acquitted in 2022, accessed from, https://www.pewresearch.org/short-reads/2023/06/14