The Solidarity and Trust for a New Day, a Liberian civil society organization called on President Joseph Boakai to authorize an independent investigation into allegations involving top state actors including his son, Jojo Boakai, in connection with reported cocaine-trafficking cases.
The group said the president’s recent dismissal of security officials allegedly linked to investigations involving hundreds of millions of dollars in cocaine was insufficient to dismantle what it described as a wider transnational criminal network.
“Dismissing a few officials is not justice,” STAND said in a statement signed by its chairman, Mulbah K. Morlu. The organization called for investigators to examine the roles of alleged financiers, facilitators, protectors, collaborators and beneficiaries, “wherever the evidence leads.”
STAND said allegations made by a person it described as a suspected drug-trafficking figure accuse Jojo Boakai of aiding the movement of cocaine and receiving $2 million in bribes. The organization did not provide evidence to substantiate the allegations, which have not been established in court.
The group said Jojo Boakai should be questioned by independent investigators and emphasized that no individual should be shielded from scrutiny because of family ties to the president.
“Being the son of the sitting president does not place Mr. Jojo Boakai beyond investigation, prosecution or imprisonment if the evidence so warrants,” STAND said.
The organization also cited media reports concerning a vessel identified as the IB Atlantic IV which was reportedly docked off Liberia’s Grand Cape Mount County.
STAND said the vessel’s alleged links to Mark Egon Kuiah, whom it said is considered as a friend to the President’s son, warranted further examination. The group also referred to allegations that Kuiah sought to protect the vessel at sea.
STAND called for an independent investigation into reported cocaine cases involving shipments valued at about $19 million and more than $300 million. It alleged that trafficking operations on that scale could not have occurred without possible institutional assistance or protection.
The organization urged investigators to examine the Liberia National Police, the Liberia Drug Enforcement Agency, Roberts International Airport and elements of the National Security Agency. It said any inquiry should be impartial, professional and protected from political interference.
President Boakai recently dismissed more than a dozen security officials reportedly connected to the cocaine investigations and ordered that they face prosecution. STAND said the move heightened concerns about possible institutional compromise but criticized what it called the lack of comparable public action against senior officials.
“Justice cannot stop where power begins,” the group said.
STAND also urged political parties, religious organizations, civil society groups, labor unions, professional associations and other groups to join what it described as a peaceful and constitutional campaign to “save the state.” It said details of planned civic actions would be announced later.
The organization said the cocaine investigations represented a national-security crisis that threatened Liberia’s institutions, sovereignty and public confidence. It also criticized the reported omission of the drug-trafficking scandal from Liberia’s recent Independence Day program, saying that raised concerns about whether the investigations were losing urgency.
The allegations against Jojo Boakai and other individuals cited by STAND remain unproven. Any investigation would be subject to due process and the presumption of innocence.
