Senator Amara Konneh has issued a powerful call for a united, transparent, and accountable front in government’s intensifying battle against narcotics, warning that selective justice and weak institutions could derail the nation’s fight against its greatest security threat.
Speaking at the Edward Wilmot Blyden Intellectual Discourse hosted by the Press Union of Liberia, Konneh urged government, security agencies, and citizens to embrace a “win‑win approach” anchored in equal justice, institutional credibility, and systemic reform. He praised President Joseph Boakai’s decisive suspensions and dismissals of officials allegedly tied to drug trafficking but cautioned that symbolic gestures alone will not suffice.
“Suspending officials and burning drugs are the easy part. Securing convictions in court is the hard part,” Konneh declared, recalling Liberia’s failed $100 million cocaine case in 2023, which collapsed due to weak prosecution and broken evidentiary chains.
Konneh stressed that indefinite suspensions without charges erode public confidence. He demanded that the Ministry of Justice prosecute implicated officials within 90 days or reinstate those against whom no evidence exists. Swift, transparent trials, he argued, would clear innocent officers, permanently remove compromised ones, and reassure honest personnel that the system protects them.
“Indefinite suspension without charge is selective justice,” he warned, insisting that accountability must be impartial and comprehensive.
The Senator emphasized that investigators must be more credible than suspects. Allegations of questionable procurement practices within the police—luxury SUVs, vehicles registered to private citizens, and opaque financial management—risk undermining trust.
Konneh proposed a “win‑win solution”: the Task Force should publish a press pack including PPCC approvals, GSA asset registrations, MFDP payment vouchers, and LRA duty waivers. Such transparency, he argued, would exonerate the police, strengthen prosecutions, and prevent defense lawyers from exploiting loopholes.
Highlighting the vulnerability of underpaid agents, Konneh warned: “We cannot ask LDEA agents earning $150 to resist a cartel offering $50,000.” He pledged Senate support for direct budget allocations to the Liberia Drug Enforcement Agency, hazard pay and insurance for Task Force members, and the creation of a Special Drug Court with protected judges to expedite cases within 90 days.
Konneh urged institutionalization of reforms beyond immediate prosecutions. He called for strict enforcement of asset forfeiture provisions under Liberia’s Revised Drug Law of 2023, directing seized drug money toward rehabilitation centers nationwide. He also demanded rigorous chain‑of‑custody standards, ensuring drugs move from port to lab to court under camera surveillance.
“This is the bulletproof evidence that must be followed to win this drug case,” he insisted.
Closing his remarks, Konneh invoked Edward Wilmot Blyden’s vision that “Africa can still be the hope of the world.” He argued that Liberia can prove to its people and the world that it is capable of fighting drugs without selective justice or corruption.
He praised Attorney General Tweh for committing to bi‑weekly classified briefings to the Senate’s Defense, Security, and Intelligence Committee, ensuring lawmakers remain informed beyond public reports.
Konneh concluded with a resounding appeal: “President Boakai has taken a bold first step. The Task Force has taken a bold step. Now let’s take the harder step: swift, equal, and transparent justice. No selective justice. No sacred cows. No endless investigations. If we do that, the President wins, the Task Force wins, and Liberia wins. All of us win.”
