By Our Staff Writer
MONROVIA: On March 17, 2023, former President George Manneh Weah’s erstwhile Deputy Presidential Press Secretary, Smith Toby, issued a formal statement, via the Executive Mansion, disclosing that the former President of Liberia, George Manneh Weah, and selected former cabinet officials of the erstwhile regime departed Liberia for international engagements in the United States of America and the United Arab Emirates.
The ex-ministers who departed Liberia, then, with the former President included former Foreign Minister, Dee-Maxwell Kemayah; former Justice Minister, Cllr. Frank Musah Dean; former National Defense Minister, Maj/Gen (Rtd). Daniel Ziankahn; former Commerce Minister, Mawine Diggs; former Information Minister, Ledgerhood Rennie; former Finance and Development Planning Minister, Samuel Tweah; and the former Commissioner of Liberia Maritime Authority, Lenn Eugene Nagbe.
The former presidential spokesman disclosed at the time that as part of the President engagements, the former Liberian Leader was scheduled to meet with key United Arab Emirates (UAE) and US government officials, Liberia’s development partners, and would-be investors.
A day later, the former Deputy Presidential Press Secretary, in an interview with local journalists pointed out that Weah’s visit to the UAE was in furtherance of his previous visits to that Gulf nation, to do follow-ups on promises made to Liberia by the UAE, then.
Few days later, ex-President Weah was seen in the United States in a very serious mood.
He was seen arriving in the USA via an Executive Mansion live feed screened on its Official Facebook page, then.
The entire US visit by the former Liberian President appeared to have been characterized by secrecy and it was widely believed that many of Weah’s officials including the then Justice Minister were reportedly far away from the United States Central Intelligence Agency (CIA), Headquarters in Langley, Virginia, where former President Weah was invited by the CIA.
But since then, there has been no reports from the former President’s Communication’s Team, concerning the details of Weah’s visit to the CIA Headquarters.
The situation sparked lots of speculations among Liberians at home and abroad.
Prior to former President Weah’s visit to the United States of America, the Director of the Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) of the United States of America, William Burns, visited Liberia during the unveiling of the new Headquarters of the National Security Agency (NSA), and held talks with the then President, George Weah. Details of that meeting involving former President Weah and the CIA Chief were highly confidential.
Reports had it that following that discussions in Monrovia, Weah was invited to the USA, not knowing the reasons for his invitation by the CIA in the USA.
Multiple international cables indicated that during former President Weah’s visit to CIA Headquarters, his (Weah’s) US citizenship and others amenities were revoked quietly for allegedly compromising the interests of the United States government both in and out of Liberia, as it related to the 2022 FIFA World Cup bid that the US lost to Qatar.
According to the cables, despite the fact that Weah’s son, Timothy Weah, plays for United States National Football Team, ex-President Weah, an American Passport holder then, allegedly lobbied with global football giants to vote against the United States that led to awarding the 2022 World Cup bid to the Islamic State of Qatar.
Although, former President Weah has not officially spoken on his visit to the CIA, one of Weah’s confidents contacted by this paper yesterday for comment, categorically rejected reports that Weah’s American citizenship has been revoked by the US government.
However, during the opening of the 2022 Football World Cup, Weah led a High-powered Liberian government including his wife, also an American-Jamaican citizen to grace the occasion.
Though there were no details released to the public concerning the Liberian delegation, then, to the 2022 FIFA World Cup and the USA, neither did the then Government of Liberia, headed then, by Weah explain anything about the former President’s alleged support to Qatar 2022 World Cup Bid.
The Qatar 2022 World Cup bid was widely criticized by Western Nations which claimed that the bidding process was characterized by bribery and corruption, which led to the investigation of former FIFA President Sepp Blatter and other top FIFA officials.
However, some former officials, names withheld for security reasons, hinted that ONLY WEAH ENTERED THE CIA HEADQAUTERS.
WE DID NOT GO WITH HIM (WEAH), SO WE DON’T KNOW HAPPENED THERE, the former government officials further hinted, then.
US official who prefers anonymity for diplomatic reasons, hinted this paper that former President Weah committed one of the highest degrees of betrayal against US by being an American citizen, who lobbied and voted against United States interest in such a global competition-FIFA World Cup 2022.
However, on March 21, 2023, former Assistant Minister of Foreign Affairs, George Wisner, said that the then invitation extended to former President Weah and his former Minister of Justice by Langley (CIA Headquarters) was not concerning ‘STATE VISIT from Department of State or the White House but a rather a ‘strange one’.
According to him, “I have been around diplomatic circles for some time now (including 4 years of active duty as head of the largest Bureau within Foreign Affairs). I am finding it difficult to see a precedent in recent years. Even during the days of Mobutu Sese Sekou of Zaire (a loyal asset of Langley), no invite came directly from the CIA.”
Former Assistant Foreign Minister Wisner added, then, “Some have argued that perhaps the CIA is looking to cut a deal with Weah as the geopolitical rivalry intensifies between East and West and as the US re-evaluates its strategic interest in Sub-Saharan Africa. I also find this other theory strange. Spy Agencies, recruiting an Asset do not expose that Asset in the way the invite to Weah exposes him to suspicion amongst his peers. Moreover, Spy Agency seldom exposes their intentions so openly in the way the open invite to Weah does.”
Wisner who also served once as Executive Director of the National Investment Commission (NIC), during former President Ellen Johnson Sirleaf’s administration wonders: “Could this invite to Weah, which also includes his Attorney, the Minister of Justice, be to confront him with irrefutable evidence of money laundering (which President Biden declared as a National Security threat to the US) for which some of his key lieutenants have been sanctioned by the US? Allegations of money laundering were also raised by the Kroll report into the investigation into the US$25 million mop-up fiasco.”
Wisner’s letter to the media at that time further indicated: “There have also been allegations of rampant corruption by key actors of both the US Congress and the Executive Branch of Government, notably amongst which is the kleptomaniac label ascribed to the Weah regime by Representative Chris Smith of the US Congress. Then, there are also numerous mysterious and suspicious murders in which the Weah regime has been complicit.”
“Could the objective of the invite be to read to Weah the Riot’s Act? Could it be a carrot and stake to exact compliance on some matters deemed extremely important to the US interest?” the former Assistant Foreign Affairs Minister wondered at the time.
Concluding, former Minister Wisner cautioned the then Weah led Government to inform the Liberian citizenry who needed to know why President Weah was invited by the CIA.
“Whatever the case, President Weah and his Government must come clean with the Liberian people. The Liberian people need to know the nature of the invitation to Langley as well as the outcome of such an unusual invitation,” Wisner stressed, then.
After the honoring the CIA INVITE, Weah returned home in late March 2023, with swiftly imposed ban on unprocessed rubber leaving Liberia and vowed other drastic actions.
He also asked some of the state officials, who at the time, intended to contest the 2023 Presidential and Legislative elections to stand down.
Weah, at the same time, blasted the then Minister of Finance and Development Planning Minister for not paying Civil Servants on time; chided former Information Minister for not being pro-active but the Minister replied that US$5 cannot cook cabbage soup, among others.
