Boakai’s anti-graft plan suffers setback as Supreme Court temporarily halts Taskforce activities

The decision by the Liberian Supreme Court ordering the Asset Recovery Taskforce to halt its activities and release with immediate effect all vehicles seized during its recent operation has raised concerns about the implications for the government’s anti-corruption crusade.

The court on Thursday, March 28, had instructed the task force not to carry out any further seizure until a pending conference in a Writ of Prohibition filed by the Management of Gracious Ride Incorporated, a service reportedly owned by an ally to former President George Weah, Finda Bundoo. These claims have been denied by Bundoo.

The Asset Recovery Taskforce, which was set up by President Joseph Boakai to recover government assets, would have to wait until an outcome from a hearing scheduled on Monday, April 1, is made in line with the laws of Liberia, according to a report by Liberian daily Newspaper, FrontPageAfrica.

What prompted the court action by Gracious Ride was the seizure of a vehicle of former Police Inspector, Patrick Sudue, claiming to have been legitimately bought for US$5,000 as well as the seizure of the vehicle being managed by Gracious Ride Incorporated, FrontPageAfrica reported.

The documents of both vehicles had been requested by members of the force who were led by Emmanuel Gonquoi, a member of the task force, in line with its mandate to investigate documents of vehicles and properties.

Keeping his promise

Fighting corruption and recovering stolen state assets and property were some of Boakai’s key 2023 campaign promises. On 5 March, he issued an executive order establishing the Office of Assets Recovery. This was followed by the announcement of a task force to crack down on corruption and try to retrieve stolen funds.

The Assets Recovery and Property Retrieval Core Team is mandated to ensure processes leading to the location, recovery, and retrieval – through criminal prosecutions and civil litigations – of public resources and properties that have been illegally acquired or converted to private use during the administration of George Weah.

In the executive order, Boakai said: “It is paramount that public assets that were illegally obtained and converted to private use be retrieved and returned to the Liberian people and the perpetrators be brought to justice in accordance with appropriate laws that provide for confiscation through criminal investigation and legal prosecution.”

The operations of the tax force have been received with mixed reactions from the public. Many Liberians have voiced their approval of this initiative, saying that the magnitude of corruption witnessed under the Weah government requires serious efforts to address its effects on the country’s economy.

Reports of widespread unlawful acquisition of wealth by officials of the Weah government, at the expense of the Liberian people, saw the United States (U.S) government impose a lifetime travel ban on some officials of the Weah government.

Boakai’s decision to set up an asset recovery task force is intended to be comprehensive as he explores the feasibility of establishing a war crimes court for Liberia.

For the opposition CDC, especially through the words of National Secretary General and former mayor of Monrovia, Jefferson Koijee, the task force simply represents an attempt at witch-hunting members of the former CDC government.

“We like to inform Mr. Boakai that no member of the CDC will subject themselves to that so-called asset recovery task force,” he said at a political event.

He also said that the reputation of members of the task force raise questions about its impartiality. “What you term as an asset recovery is total nonsense because those you line up to do that job have fallen short of everything,” Koijee said.

Liberian senator Amara Konneh, was reported as saying Liberians generally welcome Boakai’s stolen asset recovery initiative in fulfilment of his campaign plan. He, however, warned that the recovery of stolen assets “requires sustained action grounded in Liberian laws, not a witch-hunt or settling political scores,” adding that “there must be tighter coordination between the president’s task force and the Liberia Anti-Corruption Commission to avoid duplication.”

The US Treasury in December sanctioned Koijee – under the Global Magnitsky Human Rights Accountability Act – for alleged serious human rights abuse and corruption, including the misappropriation of state assets.

Boakai denied accusations that his asset recovery programme is a witch-hunt. In a meeting with the asset recovery team at the presidency recently, he said the quest to recover ‘stolen’ assets was prompted by the need for accountability, urging the team to be accountable.

“Nobody tells you that you are witch hunting. When you work for the government or any institution, you have to account for your work. It is not a witch-hunt when they ask you to account. It is accountability,” he said.

However, as one source puts it, “this is not a witch-hunt but it certainly will become a manhunt for anybody found complicit in corrupt practices.”

This description seems apt. Under Boakai’s policy, travel and other restrictions would be placed on all individuals identified as suspects while undergoing investigation for stolen and suspicious assets.

His government says it will also use “diplomatic and Interpol means to extradite individuals identified as suspects that are outside the bailiwick of Liberia” to bring them under the jurisdiction of the investigative team.

As the country awaits the final decision of the court, many are hoping that Boakai’s anti-corruption plan, which remains a key aspect of his reform programme, will be able to significantly reduce what has been considered the country’s major impediment to growth.