By Joe Noutoua Wandah
After decades of civil unrest and ethnically driven violence—often orchestrated or exacerbated by political elites for personal gain—Liberia remains without a coherent and inclusive national security strategy. Despite constitutional guarantees of protection and equality before the law, the lived reality for most Liberians is one of daily insecurity, fear, and abandonment.
Constitutional Mandates Versus Practical Realities
Article 11(a) of the 1986 Liberian Constitution is unequivocal:
“All persons are born equally free and independent and have certain natural, inherent and inalienable rights. Among these are the right of enjoying and defending life and liberty, of pursuing and maintaining the security of the person, and of acquiring, possessing and protecting property…”
In principle, this provision affirms the government’s obligation to protect all citizens equally. In practice, however, this constitutional mandate is honored in the breach.
Security remains a privilege enjoyed by a select few—namely, senior government officials, members of the judiciary, and foreign investors—while ordinary Liberians are left exposed to rampant criminal activity, often in the absence of any credible law enforcement presence.
UNMIL’s Recommendations Ignored
The United Nations Mission in Liberia (UNMIL) provided extensive guidance on post-conflict security sector reform, including a call for robust recruitment and training of police personnel to cover the country’s territorial expanse.
Yet, these recommendations were largely ignored by successive administrations, particularly under former President Ellen Johnson Sirleaf. The reasons for this failure remain opaque, but the consequences are glaring: inadequate policing, a fragile justice system, and unchecked violence across urban and rural communities alike.
A Dual Security System: Elites Protected, Citizens Exposed
It has become a normalized spectacle: long convoys of state vehicles, flanked by heavily armed escorts, shielding government officials as they traverse the same neighborhoods where everyday Liberians suffer armed robberies, assaults, and home invasions.
This dual security system lays bare the inequity embedded within the state apparatus. Law enforcement appears more focused on traffic enforcement and VIP protection than on its constitutional duty to safeguard the broader public.
Robberies perpetrated by individuals on motorcycles or tricycles (“kehkehs”) occur in full view of police checkpoints, where officers often decline to intervene. This operational indifference raises serious questions about institutional capacity, strategic priorities, and possible corruption.
Post-War Reintegration Failures
Following the 2005 elections, the international community committed significant financial and technical resources to the rehabilitation and reintegration of ex-combatants and war-affected civilians.
These programs were intended to provide mental health support, vocational training, and social reintegration. However, numerous reports and firsthand accounts suggest that funds earmarked for these purposes were either misallocated or misused.
As a result, many former combatants were neither rehabilitated nor reintegrated, and today constitute a significant portion of Liberia’s growing informal criminal networks. The state’s failure to strategically reintegrate this population is a missed opportunity with dire implications for national security.
Accountability and the Culture of Impunity
Perhaps most troubling is the enduring culture of impunity. Individuals who participated in wartime atrocities have not only escaped accountability but have at times been rewarded with political appointments or economic privileges.
This historical amnesia sends a dangerous message: that criminality, if politically shielded, is a viable path to power or survival.
Former President George Weah’s infamous suggestion that citizens “buy CCTV cameras” if they wanted security reflected a broader institutional abdication of responsibility.
His administration’s tenure was marked by a surge in violent crimes, including armed robberies, sexual violence, and homicides, underscoring systemic failure at the highest levels.
Reclaiming Article 11(a): A Call for Institutional Reform
The recurring failure of Liberia’s governments—past and present—to enforce the constitutional right to security is a direct violation of the social contract.
Article 11(a) is not aspirational prose; it is a binding legal obligation. The state’s consistent neglect in this domain has eroded public trust, encouraged lawlessness, and exacerbated socio-economic instability.
It is no longer sufficient for officials to cite resource constraints or historical complexities. The demand from the Liberian people is clear: protect all citizens, not just the powerful. Restore integrity to the security sector. Rebuild public confidence through transparency, accountability, and strategic investment in community safety.
The right to life and security must not remain theoretical. It must be actualized, systematized, and universally enforced.
I rest my case. The Liberian people deserve better.
