By Sidiki Fofana : Truth In Ink
If President Joseph Nyumah Boakai is truly committed to fighting corruption, then his actions must move beyond temporary suspensions and politically convenient indictments.
The real test lies in how his administration confronts Liberia’s fragile institutions, the Legislature and Judiciary, and how it balances its domestic campaign with mounting pressure from international partners.
A Legislature at the Center of Doubt
The Liberian Legislature is a central, but often compromised, player in the corruption fight. For decades, it has toggled between being a gatekeeper of accountability and a broker of impunity. In 2010, former President Ellen Johnson Sirleaf offered a stark indictment of the institution:
“There can be no meaningful development if those elected to enact laws become merchants of concessions and contracts., President Sirleaf, State of the Nation, 2010
Today, under President Boakai, little has changed. Several current legislators were senior officials or close allies of indicted figures from past regimes. While the Asset Recovery Team has pursued charges against former officials, the Legislature itself has escaped meaningful scrutiny, despite being ranked in CENTAL’s 2023 State of Corruption Report as one of Liberia’s “least transparent institutions.”
Cllr. J. Fonati Koffa was controversially removed as Speaker, an action many see not as justice, but as political retaliation for his bold attempts to introduce reform, enforce audits, and demand accountability within the House of Representatives.
The Judiciary: Referee or Accomplice?
If the fight against corruption is to be taken seriously, the judiciary must be its backbone. Unfortunately, the courts remain a soft spot in Liberia’s anti-corruption armor. The U.S. State Department’s 2021 Human Rights Report on Liberia laid bare the problem:
“Judicial independence in Liberia remains compromised by executive influence, limited resources, and corruption within the judiciary itself.”
Chief Justice Sie-A-Nyene Yuoh’s upcoming retirement provides President Boakai with a unique opportunity to shape the Supreme Court for a generation. But that opportunity comes with a heavy burden. Will he nominate a politically loyal ally, or an independent-minded reformer capable of strengthening judicial credibility?
Without reform, the Liberia Anti-Corruption Commission (LACC), no matter how empowered on paper, will remain paralyzed by courts vulnerable to delay, interference, or favoritism.
The International Watchdog: America and the Global Lens
Boakai’s corruption campaign is not unfolding in a vacuum. Liberia’s principal international partners, especially the United States, are watching closely. The U.S. Magnitsky sanctions are not a shot across the bow. They are not symbolic; they are a statement of zero tolerance for entrenched graft.
In a firm 2022 statement, the U.S. Embassy in Monrovia declared: “The fight against corruption is fundamental to Liberia’s progress. Accountability must not be politicized.”
That warning still holds. As USAID, the EU, and the World Bank continue to funnel aid into Liberia’s governance and development programs, consistency, not theatrics, will be the true currency of trust.
The World Bank’s 2025 Country Economic Memorandum put it plainly: “Corruption and poor public financial management remain significant constraints to growth. Institutional reform must accompany anti-corruption rhetoric.”, World Bank CEM, March 2025
Boakai’s administration must ensure that this rhetoric is finally matched by reform.
Will Boakai Rewrite Liberia’s Script?
The contradictions in President Boakai’s corruption fight are not new, and they need not be fatal. But they must be resolved quickly.
In 1982, after executing 13 officials accused of corruption, President Samuel Doe declared:
“We will cleanse this country of corruption.”
Forty-three years later, Liberia is still waiting, not for more cleansing, but for fairness, independence, and institutional strength. If President Boakai wants to break this cycle, he must do what others failed to: ensure the law applies equally, protect truth-tellers, and empower institutions that work. The opportunity is real. The question is, will he seize it?
