Proverb 27:22 says, “Though grind a fool in a mortar with pestle along with crushed grain, yet his foolishness will not depart from him.” Since President Joseph N. Boakai’s Press Secretary Kula Fofana’s appointment, she has received several stern rebukes and criticisms for alleged massive corruption practices, but has refused to repent.
“No more business as usual and we will fix this country, no matter what they will do,” President Boakai often says as a caveat to fight corruption and immorality in order to put Liberia on par with other countries in the comity of nations in fighting corruption.
However, despite the President’s quest to suppress or minimize the act of corruption in Liberia, his mouth-piece, Kula Fofana, is allegedly drowning in corruption’s ocean in terms of pocketing journalists’ presidential gratuity.
In December 2024, she allegedly received US$3,000 on behalf of the Executive Mansion Press Corps in Lofa County from the President as a Christmas and New Year gift, but “ate” it without giving them a dime, a situation that fueled resentment between her and her boss, the head of Public Affairs Department, Kesselly.
According to a source from the President’s office, before the State-of-the-Nation Address (SONA), President Boakai, in a happy mood, allegedly gave US$10,000 to Executive Mansion Press Corps—cash—to Press Secretary Kula as a sign of appreciation for the journalistic service being rendered to his office since his ascendancy as Liberia’s 26th President.
“The money was given in our presence, and the President promised to buy Ousma’s camera,” the insider said. “Before the money reached down, she had “chopped” US$6,000 and argued that only US$4,000 was given for the Press Corps.”
However, in public remarks on Spoon Radio Talk Show, Press Secretary Kula revealed that US$25,000 was given her for SONA for three entities: Ministry of Information and Tourism, Liberia Broadcasting Corporation, her office and the Press Corps of the Executive Mansion.
Information revealed that each of the trio got US$8,000, with US$1,000 as a residue. The previous US$10,000 plus the US$8,000 equated the money to US$18,000 that she allegedly received on behalf of the Executive Mansion Press Corps, including her office staffers and assigned Executive Mansion reporters.
During the SONA on Monday, January 27, 2025, 21 reporters, out of 34 active assigned reporters, provided coverage with the hope to get US$100 or US$150 each since the amount was huge, but Kula thwarted their plan.
After the President delivered the SONA, the Press Secretary pretended as if she did not receive a cent as presidential financial gift for the reporters. The Executive Mansion’s reporters lingered around to see what Kula would do after being told that the President gave money for the SONA coverage.
At the verge of departure for their homes, the press secretary shamefully called for a group photo to be taken, and after it she asked for the total number of those who provided courage. Immediately, the vice President of the Executive Mansion Press Corps, Anthony Jifan, revealed that 21 reporters provided coverage.
Without conscience, allegedly money-driven Kula took US$600 from the huge amount which was alloted to the press corps through her office and presented it. With anger and to avoid her constant humiliation, the reporters decided to return the money to her, but she left unceremoniously. In the end, the 21 reporters who covered SONA each got US$28. which is equivalent to L$5,000.
At the Mansion, the assigned reporters from various media entities publicized President Boakai’s activities on their platforms which presents his activities nation- and worldwide, while the President’s activities are followed on the Executive Mansion’s page by the press secretary and her office staffers, making the reporters more significant than her office staffers who are not journalists. But Kula valued her staffers by given each US$100, including those who covered the SONA and those who did not, according to a source from the Ministry of State.
She refused to give the benefit of the Executive Mansion reporters who did not attend the program, but provided it for her office staffers who were absent.
However, the Executive Mansion reporters say their temper has reached the boiling point to explosion because Fofana is using their service and benefiting financially while they are not.
Her alleged corrupt action is equated to that of former deputy press secretary Smith Toby, who allegedly “ate” journalists “catoe” throughout former President George M. Weah’s administration.
Because President Boakai’s press secretary is self-seeking and allegedly corrupt, she allegedly solicited funds from autonomous agencies that included Liberia Petroleum Refining Corporation, Freeport of Monrovia, and do on, on behalf of the press corps without their knowledge—and benefit—during the festive season, according to source in the mansion who knows her antics.
On the other hand, Press Secretary Kula and her special office assistant, Lovett Fahnbulleh, in rage, demanded President Godfred Badu of the Executive Mansion’s Press Corps to produce a receipt for receiving US$1,500 on behalf of the press corps from President Boakai’s special assistant Louise Tamba for the coverage of the December 22, 2024 groundbreaking service of the National Clinical Diagnostic and Treatment Laboratory at military hospital in Margibi County.
Kula and her assistant are still bitter with President Badu because both claimed that the US$1,500 was for them and not for the reporters, a situation that presents their action as greed of the first degree.
As a result, she instructed the President’s Special Assistant, Tamba, not to give any money directly to Executive Mansion’s leadership in her absence.
However, there are growing public calls for President Boakai to suspend or dismiss Press Secretary Fofana for the same corruption allegations he suspended three officials from the Liberia Refugee Repatriation And Resettlement Commission, or reinstate them along with former Commerce Minister.
President Boakai’s failure to fight corruption with imprisonment and reimbursement of stolen funds raises questions about Liberia ‘s judicial process–whose wheels often grind slowly, and in the ongoing corruption cases is completely broken, destroying the hope for justice for Liberians who trust his administration.