As Pres.-Elect Joe Boakai Allegedly Bribes Lawmakers: Pay For Play; New Wine In The Same Old Bottle

Ahead of the election at the National Legislature for the positions of Speaker, Deputy Speaker and Senate Pro-Tempore today, leaders of the in-coming Unity Party (UP) administration have begun to show how desperate they are to micromanage and teleguide the affairs of the National Legislature and repose absolute power into the hands of the President, which undermines the tenets of a working democracy and reverse the country back into autocracy.

Liberia has a unitary Republican form of government, with three separate but coordinating branches and a deep consideration for the doctrine of Separation of Power. The National Legislature is headed by the Speaker, the Executive by the President and the Judiciary by the Chief Justice. In the November 14, 2023 presidential run-off election, the UP candidate, Ambassador Joseph N. Boakai, was elected President to head the affairs of the Executive for the next six years. However, authenticated information permeating the Hot Pepper newsroom is that the UP hierarchy, led by President-elect Boakai, is allegedly infusing huge sums of money in the election of the Speaker and Senate Pro-Tempore, with the aim of having absolute control over that branch of government to avoid technicality when bills of interest are sent there.

Already, there is a vacancy at the Supreme Court for the position of an Associate Justice. It is expected that, after his inauguration, President Boakai will nominate a confidant to fill in the gap and become the nose of the presidency at the high court.

The Hot Pepper investigation has revealed that President-elect Boakai is allegedly resolute to pay for play at the Legislature, and has reportedly promised each supporter of Representative Richard Koon’s speakership bid a sum of US$25,000 (twenty-five thousand United States dollars) in the form of support for their constituents for the inauguration on January 22. This revelation was validated by Grand Kru County’s district #1 Representative, Nathaniel Bahway, who confirmed that he was at the meeting when Boakai stated that he “will be giving twenty-five thousand to each individual so that they will see reason to support their districts, because district dwellers will be coming to Monrovia and some will be going back; so you are there to serve them”.

𝑹𝒆𝒑. 𝑵𝒂𝒕𝒉𝒂𝒏𝒊𝒆𝒍 𝑩𝒂𝒉𝒘𝒂𝒚

The investigation also revealed that the UP has been successful in securing over twenty (20) senators to sign a resolution in support of Grand Bassa County Senator, Nyonblee Karnga-Lawrence, for the position of Senate Pro-Tempore, allegedly dishing out a whopping US$40,000 to each senator as a token of gratitude.

The political desperation ahead of the inauguration has sparked public debate and criticism about early mismanagement of power and the source(s) of the funds being lavishly distributed among members of the first branch of government. Representative Yekeh Kolubah, one of the progenitors of the UP administration, has questioned the sources of Boakai’s money and officially written him to inform the Liberian people how he received the money. Unfortunately, Representative Kolubah said his letter was rejected by the UP folks.

Also, Bong County Representative, Marvin Cole, has expressed frustration in the Unity Party hierarchy for financially inducing their legislative politics. Even though he claimed that Boakai is not in the know about the on-going bribery, he said individuals close to the President-elect are the ones using his name to influence the election and the House and the Senate, but described their effort as worthless and has no impact on their support for Cllr. Fonati Koffa’s speakership bid.

𝑹𝒆𝒑. 𝑴𝒂𝒓𝒗𝒊𝒏 𝑪𝒐𝒍𝒆

The Unity Party was elected on the mantra of fighting corruption and reviving the economy—rescuing the nation from further economic deprivation, looting of state coffers and the disregard for the rule of law. Contrarily, the administration is beginning on business-as-usual, corrupting the mindset of national leaders and presenting themselves as new wine in the same old bottle, as veteran political journalist Albert Porte would put it.

The Hot Pepper has been informed that the early unbecoming attitude of the UP administration has claimed the attention of the United States government. According to information, officials of the US embassy in Monrovia recently contacted a high-ranking official of the UP and interrogating the individual about the on-going bribery scandal at the Legislature, which they consider, again, a pay for play. It was reported that the individual told a boldface lie to the embassy that the information is false and misleading, even though there are members of the Legislature who have come openly to talk about it.

It can be recalled that in 2021 the United States Treasury Department slammed Nimba County Senator, Prince Y. Johnson, with sanctions for corruption and involving in pay for play. Also, the Treasury Department sanctioned Grand Cape Mount County Senator, Varney Sherman, froze his assets for corruption and placed him on travel ban for bribing judges in court for favorable justice.

But it seems like Boakai and the Unity Party (UP) did not take heed, and learned nothing from the sanctions, as they have allegedly involved themselves in the same gameplay ahead of their inauguration.