Boakai’s Anti-Corruption Drive Raises Alarm Over Political Targeting

IN PHOTO: Former Foreign Minister Dee Maxwell Kemayah, Mary Broh, et al

President Joseph Boakai’s calculated move to first suspend three agency heads and then arrest prominent opposition figures was no coincidence. It was a politically coined plan—a pace-setting tactic—before further weaponizing the justice system against perceived political threats.

The heads of the Liberia Telecommunications Authority, Monrovia Consolidated School System, and the Bureau of State Enterprises had all fallen out of political favor with the president, so using them as sacrificial lambs cost the government nothing. Official statements cited corruption, but few in Liberia’s political circles are convinced. For many, these suspensions were a carefully staged overture, designed to lend legitimacy to what followed: the dramatic detention of opposition-linked former officials.

Within hours, Mary Broh, former Director-General of the General Services Agency; Henry Williams, ex-chief of the National Disaster Management Agency; and Maxwell Kemayah, former Foreign Minister, were arrested and transferred to Criminal Court ‘C’. The Ministry of Justice and the Liberia Anti-Corruption Commission (LACC) accuse them of corruption and misuse of public funds.

Yet the government’s promises of further arrests ring hollow for critics, who point out that the president’s own allies—despite public allegations of misconduct—remain untouched.

“Anyone who believes a president who has defied multiple Supreme Court rulings is serious about fighting corruption has been thoroughly brainwashed,” said one legal analyst, reflecting a growing sense of cynicism about the administration’s true objectives.

Opposition leaders and civil society observers see the latest actions as part of a broader strategy: silence alternative voices, cripple credible challengers, and divert attention from festering scandals.

“This isn’t about accountability. It’s about eliminating threats,” a former senior government official told Insights Liberia. “What we are seeing is a deliberate campaign to criminalize political dissent while shielding loyalists from any real scrutiny”.

The choreography is all too familiar. The justice system is mobilized not as a tool for reform, but as a weapon of political convenience. The stories of genuine misconduct are diluted, while the spotlight is fixed on those who dare to challenge the status quo.

As Broh, Williams, and Kemayah remain under arrest and subject to travel bans, the Boakai administration’s intentions are under scrutiny. Is this the dawn of a cleaner Liberia—or just another chapter in the country’s long history of political score-settling dressed up as reform?

________________________________________________

Get Involved

Do you have additional facts to add to this insight or an opinion you would like to express?

Email Us

analysis@insightsliberia.com

Additional sources

1. https://frontpageafricaonline.com/breaking-news/liberia-president-boakai-suspends-amb-conteh-kouyateh-onanuga-and-454-other-officials-for-failing-to-declare-assets/

2. https://www.jurist.org/news/2025/02/liberia-president-suspends-hundreds-of-officials-over-failure-to-declare-assets/

3. https://www.africanews.com/2025/02/13/asset-declaration-failures-lead-to-suspension-of-450-liberian-officials/

4. https://medafricatimes.com/38837-liberian-president-launches-anti-corruption-drive-with-mass-suspensions.html

5. https://apnews.com/article/liberia-boakai-suspension-officials-assets-corruption-aabdabfe26aa8fcff70f760a0acde80b

6. https://smartnewsliberia.com/corruption-allegations-rock-ndma-as-disaster-victims-demand-accountability/

7. https://smartnewsliberia.com/kemayah-will-account-for-his-actions-foreign-ministers-sexual-harassment-accuser-wynee-says/

8. https://smartnewsliberia.com/madam-broh-rejects-rice-saga-probe-warns-of-legal-action/

9. https://liberianinvestigator.com/politics/bility-accuses-boakai-silencing-opposition-calls-unity/

10. https://frontpageafricaonline.com/breaking-news/liberia-koijee-raises-concerns-over-crime-justice-under-boakais-govt/

11. https://gnnliberia.com/the-58m-mystery-in-liberias-yellow-machines-deal/

12. https://smartnewsliberia.com/gol-nearly-duped-of-us57-million-in-yellow-machines-scandal-activist-demands-accountability/

13. https://www.insightsliberia.com/post/the-yellow-machines-deal-a-legal-procurement-and-accountability-breach-ignoring-the-letter-and-sp

14. https://liberianinvestigator.com/news/analysis/boakai-yellow-machines-deal-controversy/

15. https://liberianinvestigator.com/update/boakai-anti-corruption-collapse-warning-arept-funding/

16. https://www.loc.gov/item/global-legal-monitor/2025-04-30/liberia-president-extends-task-force-mandate-to-recover-public-assets/

17. https://frontpageafricaonline.com/breaking-news/liberia-president-boakai-faces-backlash-for-remarks-seen-as-endorsing-corruption/

18. https://thenewsnewspaperonline.com/anti-corruption-commission-releases-mid-year-report/

19. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mary_Broh

20. https://smartnewsliberia.com/liberias-anti-corruption-fight-is-on-life-support/

21. https://issafrica.org/iss-today/post-war-liberia-still-struggles-with-corruption-and-impunity

22. https://frontpageafricaonline.com/breaking-news/liberia-kemayah-broh-williams-arrested-over-saudi-rice-scandal/