Liberia’s president tested by corruption scandal involving ports chief

Governance reform has featured in all but one of President George Manneh Weah’s state of the nation addresses since entering office. Draft legislation has been penned, and key institutions are pointing fingers at rule breakers. However, beyond this, progress has been mixed. For example in mid-September, the Liberia Anti-Corruption Commission (LACC) began investigating its vice chair Kanio Bai-Gbala and the head of the National Port Authority, Bill Twehway after a newspaper story broke claiming that the two men had formed a company named Creative Developers Incorporated (CDI) in order to get a stevedoring contract from the Port of Buchanan. Bai-Gbala has confessed to buying shares in CDI ‘on behalf of’ his sister.[1] And last week (27 September), the Buchanan port manager Charles Gull wrote an open letter (a) admitting his guilt in cooperating with Bai-Gbala and the ports chief Twehway, and (b) describing a separate scheme in which he, Twehway and others connived to corner payments received from mining firm ArcelorMittal for anchorage[2] . Gull fled the country after a fallout with Twehway. Nevertheless, sanction is far from a bygone conclusion.

Significance – Impact and autonomy

Under existing laws, the LACC cannot yet prosecute, and has turned the case over to the justice ministry. Now, eyes are turned to President George Weah because of his relationship with Twehway and because of the reputational scandals that have hamstrung the LACC during his administration. In June, the president submitted a bill to parliament that would solidify LACC’s powers to investigate and prosecute cases. The bill has since been stalled, and the latest scandal exemplifies how corrupt public officials can be emboldened by the slow pace of reform and their relationship with the ruling Congress for Democratic Change (CDC).

LACC’s decision to refer the Twehway case to the justice ministry supports our view that the commission’s impact and autonomy are constrained by law and politics (See: New appointments at Liberia’s central bank and anti-corruption commission). The LACC Act 2008 does not permit the commission to directly prosecute cases. Instead, LACC is first required to recommend prosecutions to the justice ministry and only act further if the ministry does not do so within three months. The legislation that Weah has proposed would exclusively vest prosecutorial powers in the commission – signaling his interest in reform. However, his appointment of Ndubusi Nwabudike as LACC chair in 2019 undermines the message. In March 2020 the Senate found that the Nigerian-born Nwabudike had falsified his citizenship records and the Liberian Bar Association expelled him three months later after its own probe. Even so, Weah allowed him to continue to hold this position until he finally resigned in February this year. The political context is key.

Weah and Nwabudike come from the same county: Montserrado. It is the political base for Weah and the ruling party CDC. Public officials from the county who are connected to CDC are in key government positions. These include LACC vice chair Bai-Gbala who is a former CDC executive, and ports chief Twehway who is Weah’s close associate and was one of the top CDC leaders involved in the party’s campaign for the senatorial elections last year.

Outlook – Election pressures

Precedent suggests that the justice ministry will not conclusively pursue the case against Twehway and others. In May 2020, Justice Minister Musa Dean abruptly dropped charges against four ex-central bank executives including Charles Sirleaf, son of former president Ellen Sirleaf. They were being prosecuted for their alleged role in a missing money scandal. The likelihood of thorough action has not increased. Today, Weah risks antagonising his base should his administration apply tough measures against Twehway and similar allies who have helped to advance his own political career, and who will expectedly play a role in the party’s campaign for 2023 general elections. In this pre-election context, firms continue to face elevated corruption risk when dealing with public officials – emboldened by the weak legal and political environment in which corruption legislation is applied.

[1] Embattled Anti-Corruption Vice Chair, Kanio Bai Gbala, Requests Leave of Absence (August 2021). FrontPage Africa.

[2] Former Buchanan Port Manager Writes President Weah, Details US$300K Transfer Scandal (September 2021). GNN Liberia.

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Nana Ampofo