Gbarpolu County Senator Amara Mohammed Konneh accused President Joseph Boakai’s administration of protecting senior security officials while punishing junior officers in a multimillion-dollar cocaine-trafficking investigation.
Konneh said the government’s response reflects “institutional scapegoating,” arguing that lower-ranking security personnel are being suspended or dismissed to create a public show of action, while senior officials who oversee them remain in their posts.
“Small officers are sacrificed to create a false media spectacle, while the true architects walk free,” Konneh said in a statement titled *The Danger of Silence in the Cocaine Investigation, published on his official Facebook page.
The senator alleged that some junior officers were disciplined without due process or an opportunity to defend themselves. At the same time, he said, senior officials in the security command structure have been allowed to remain in office and, in some cases, oversee investigations involving their own institutions.
Konneh did not identify the officials he accused or provide evidence in the statement to support the allegations. The government has maintained the probe is fair, transparent and evidence based. Police Inspector General Gregory Coleman who has been at the center of allegations of complicity, said people accusing him are criminals.
The senator said administrative measures such as suspensions, dismissals and transfers cannot replace criminal proceedings. Officials who are suspected of involvement in international narcotics operations, he said, should be subjected to the same legal standards as other citizens and brought before a court where appropriate.
The case has renewed concerns over the government’s handling of Liberia’s narcotics problem, including the accountability of security personnel and the independence of investigations. Konneh said selective punishment is eroding public trust and creating the impression that political influence determines who faces consequences.
“A government that penalizes the grassroots while shielding the powerful is not fighting a drug war—it’s protecting a cartel network,” he said.
Konneh also criticized what he described as efforts to silence critics, saying warnings for opponents to “watch their mouths” would deepen a culture of fear rather than strengthen Liberia’s security institutions.
The senator linked the controversy to the administration’s “Kush Must Go” campaign against illicit drugs, saying the slogan would lack credibility if officials removed from their positions were not investigated and prosecuted when evidence warranted it.
Konneh said he supported Boakai during the presidential campaign after receiving assurances that the administration would confront illicit drugs and impunity. He said Liberians were still waiting for meaningful action and vowed not to remain silent.
