While President Joseph Boakai’s government continues its high-profile actions against corruption, another tribunal is quietly convening, on radio talk shows, in market stalls, at motorbike parks, and across Liberia’s robust social media landscape. In these spaces, the true pulse of the anti-corruption fight is felt, not just through policy, but through perception.
For a nation where corruption has long been normalized as “just the way things work,” the renewed crackdown has sparked cautious hope, but also deep suspicion.
The People’s Court: Hope, Fatigue, and Mistrust
Liberians have not been silent observers of past anti-corruption theatrics. From the rice riots of 1979 to the PRC-era executions in 1980, from the promise of “Poverty Reduction” under Sirleaf to Weah’s “Pro-Poor Agenda,” they have seen time and again how corruption campaigns start with thunder, and end with silence.
A street vendor in Paynesville put it plainly during a conversation on Okay FM:
“Every president comes and says they will fight corruption, but they only fight their enemies. Their friends can steal with two hands and nobody touches them.”
This sentiment is widespread. According to the 2023 Afrobarometer Survey on Liberia,
- 64% of Liberians say they do not trust the presidency to fight corruption fairly,
- 72% believe government officials are rarely or never punished, and
- 83% say ordinary people risk retaliation if they report wrongdoing.
These numbers show that the public’s cynicism is not rooted in apathy, it is rooted in experience.
The Media: Applauding, Investigating, and Resisting Spin
Liberia’s media, one of the freest in West Africa, has been central to amplifying both the government’s actions and its contradictions. Investigative journalists like Julius Jeh, Philipbert Browne, and institutions like FrontPage Africa, The Oracle News Daily newspaper, and other media institutions have consistently exposed scandals, sometimes at great personal risk.
When LACRA and the SOE whistleblower were suspended, it was not the opposition that cried foul first, it was independent media. FrontPage Africa’s editorial board warned:
“This pattern of silencing those who expose rot while ignoring those they expose is the oldest page in Liberia’s political playbook. If Boakai does not tear that page, he becomes another reader of it.”, FrontPage Africa Editorial, May 2025
But the media’s role is not without resistance. Government loyalists have increasingly accused journalists of partisanship, while some institutions are quietly threatened with advertising withdrawal or regulatory pressure. The battle to tell the truth is ongoing, and increasingly digital.
Civil Society: Supporting the Fight, Demanding Consistency
Organizations such as CENTAL (Center for Transparency and Accountability in Liberia), Naymote, and Integrity Watch Liberia have cautiously welcomed President Boakai’s early anti-corruption moves, while warning against double standards.
In a March 2025 press conference, CENTAL’s Executive Director Anderson Miamen declared:
“No government can succeed in fighting corruption if whistleblowers are punished and politically connected wrongdoers are protected.”
These institutions have called for urgent reforms, including:
- A Whistleblower Protection Law, long promised but yet to be introduced;
- Annual public reporting on asset declarations;
- An independent special prosecutor for corruption cases;
- And mandatory compliance by all State-Owned Enterprises under public financial laws.
Meanwhile, Naymote’s 2024 Accountability Scorecard ranked over 60% of public institutions as “non-compliant” with transparency benchmarks. These groups are not just watchdogs, they are credibility anchors.
A Growing Civil Resistance Culture
Beyond formal civil society groups, a grassroots resistance culture is quietly forming. Online collectives like We the People, STAND, and others have become pressure points, mobilizing mass awareness and even protests when high-profile cases go silent or turn political.
This civic consciousness is a departure from Liberia’s past. Where previous generations feared authority, today’s youth challenge it. And they demand results, not rhetoric.
As one university student wrote on X (formerly twitter):
“Corruption doesn’t just steal money, it steals our future. JNB said he would fight. We are watching if he fights corruption, or just fights those not in his camp.”
The Real Judge of Boakai’s Legacy
Boakai’s corruption fight will not be judged solely by how many people he suspends, arrests, or prosecutes. It will be judged by who he targets, how fairly justice is applied, and whether the structures that enable impunity are dismantled or merely decorated.
This is where the people come in, not just as voters, but as judges. The Constitution declares in Article 1: “All power is inherent in the people… and they shall have the right to alter and reform the government when their safety and happiness so require.”
In today’s Liberia, that reform might begin not at the Executive Mansion, but in a tweet, a town hall, a protest, or a front-page headline.
Sidiki Fofana is a columnist with Truth in Ink and an advocate for ethical governance, justice, and institutional accountability in Liberia. Watch out for Part III of Liberia’s Endless Fight With Corruption.
