Home Politics For ‘Weaponizing Justice’: CDC Will Strongly Resist … Weah Declares; Pinpoints President Boakai’s Desecrations of Law, Other Abuses

For ‘Weaponizing Justice’: CDC Will Strongly Resist … Weah Declares; Pinpoints President Boakai’s Desecrations of Law, Other Abuses

by News Manager

By: Frank P. Martin

MONROVIA: Former President George Manneh Weah says the arrest and incarceration of several former officials of his immediate past administration for corruption without a formal indictment by grand jury amount to with-hunt.

“On Monday, July 29, 2024, the Unity Party Administration ordered heavily armed security personnel to carry out a series of unlawful detentions of some former officials of government, in what is clearly a political move intended to target the Coalition for Democratic Change (CDC) and the wider opposition community,” Weah said.

“Those detained include four former members of the National Security Council. The action was taken void of any indictment by a grand jury. This is the latest transgression of the Joseph Boakai Administration in its callous attempt to undermine the rule of law and the security of the state,” former President Weah told hundreds of CDC supporters and leaders at the party’s Headquarters in Congo Town, outside Monrovia, Wednesday, July 31, 2024.

Ex-President Weah, who is currently the political leader of the CDC asserted that the ruling Unity Party (UP), is exploiting Liberia’s legal system to prosecute his former officials.

“For the UP administration to exploit our legal system and risk fomenting chaos, it tells you to what extent some politicians are willing to go just to maintain power,” the former President.

“This is exactly the path that the CDC sought not to tread when it maintained the stability of the country against all odds, while spearheading a peaceful transition of power to President Joseph Boakai in spite of a hard-fought and close elections,” Weah declared.

Ex-President Weah catalogued chain of vices allegedly committed by the incumbent President Joseph Boakai’s administration including the harassment and removal of thousands of civil servants from government positions based purely on what he termed as party lines, excessive use of force against citizens, resulting into several deaths, the non-prosecution of individuals reported to be involved in 2023 Presidential and Legislative elections related deaths that occurred on camera.

The former President also flagged “total disregard for the tenure laws of the country even in the face of rulings by the Supreme Court of Liberia, broad-day violations of the public procurement laws of the country, the disgraced and denial of benefits of duly commissioned Liberian foreign service officials as some of the open and deliberate acts being carried out by the UP administration.”

The former ruling party-political leader also termed the suspension of the Governor of the Central Bank of Liberia, J. Aloysius Tarlue as a gross violation of the Act creating the CBL.

Weah: “The President again showed to the nation that he is not a man who respects the rule of law when he sought to illegally remove the Governor of the Central Bank of Liberia in clear violation of the act creating said institution.”

“The Unity Party can be assured that the CDC will use all legal and political means at its disposal to resist this move to weaponize the country’s judicial system to its selfish advantage. Yes Mr. Boakai, your actions to politicize justice will be resisted and resisted strongly,” Weah emphasized.

According to former President Weah, “The Unity Party government, in the execution of their evil plans, chose to ignore legal and constitutional reliance, available evidence, and pursue reckless measures.”

He reminded the ruling Unity Party (UP), that such “antics have only brought about disorder and confusion in Liberia’s recent history.”

Weah boasted that erstwhile CDC-led Government, during its six-year tenure preserved the peace, security, and welfare of the Liberian nation.

“I am also deeply proud of my record as President, particularly my unwavering respect for the rule of law and my relentless fights against corruption. You may recall that during my presidency, we advanced the fight against corruption on many fronts, including granting the Liberian Anti-Corruption Commission (LACC), direct prosecutorial powers, which is critical to the fight against corruption.

“To sustain and further advance this fight, we should not allow anyone to erode gains we have made.

“To utilize its new powers to fight corruption effectively, the LACC must treat all audit reports from the General Auditing Commission (GAC), equally, without cherry-picking, to ensure fairness and transparency.

“Skipping previous GAC audit reports and cherry-picking to target only officials of my former administration undermines the fight against corruption, and the Liberian people must see such a move as a weaponization of the LACC to witch-hunt officials of my administration,” he declared.

Ex-President Weah vowed to engage Liberia’s international partners including the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS), “whose countries have given blood and tears to the attainment and sustenance of peace and security in Liberia” about “the plan of the UP administration to capture the political system in its favor.”

On Monday, Monrovia City Court at the Temple of Justice on Capitol Hill arrested and jailed former Solicitor General of Liberia, Cllr. Nyenati Tuan; and former National Security Advisor to former President George Manneh Weah, Jefferson Karmoh, for multiple financial crimes.

The charges levied against the former state officials by the Ministry of Justice and the Liberia Anti-Corruption Commission (LACC) ranged from Economic Sabotage, Theft, to illegal disbursements and Expenditure of Public Money.

Monrovia City Court Magistrate, L. Ben Barco, denied the defendant lawyer’s petition for recognizance, despite no objection from the prosecution team.

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