President Joseph N. Boakai has swung the axe, dismissing the leadership of the Liberia Drug Enforcement Agency (LDEA) in what is already being called the most decisive action yet in his war on narcotics. But let this be clear: dismissals alone are not enough. The President must not hold back his hand.
The LDEA now has two immediate, non-negotiable tasks: investigate the dismissed officials for their role in fostering a culture of impunity and compromise, and, more importantly, smoke out and prosecute the drug lords and their accomplices operating freely across this country. Liberia has seen this before — when the last administration allowed drug traffickers caught red-handed with US$100 million worth of cocaine to walk free.
That acquittal was a national shame. It told every trafficker in the subregion that Liberia was a soft target, and that with the right connections, even the biggest haul could be written off in court. That failure has fueled today’s crisis.
Internal corruption is not just a cancer in the LDEA. It runs across every law enforcement agency in the country. That is why this is President Boakai’s fourth shake-up of the LDEA leadership in less than two years. Every time, the public has hoped for fresh faces and a new culture of accountability. Every time, the rot has resurfaced. Unless prosecutions accompany these dismissals, the cycle will only repeat itself.
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The suspension of Abraham Payne by Anthony Souh, the now-dismissed LDEA Director General, was rightly seen as a slap on the wrist. Payne allegedly ordered his daughter’s release from custody after she was arrested in a ghetto and even went so far as to threaten the officer who tried to uphold the law. To treat this as anything less than a crime was to send the message that officers can bend the law when it suits them, so long as they have the right rank or connection. By failing to act firmly, Souh himself appeared complicit.
But Payne’s misconduct also points to a much larger issue, not just in Liberia, but in law enforcement across the world: officers abusing their authority with impunity, shielded by camaraderie, fraternity, or outright corruption. How many times have we seen law enforcement officers prosecuted and convicted for crimes in Liberia? Rarely. At best, some are disrobed, dismissed, or quietly transferred. But the record of actual prosecutions and convictions is vanishingly thin. Without consequences, the abuse becomes the norm.
The Liberia National Police have a Professional Standards Division, tasked with investigating public complaints. On paper, this is the watchdog. In practice, it is a dog on a leash — constrained by the same administration it is supposed to investigate. The structure is inherently compromised. Some may call for an independent Professional Standards Regulator, staffed with investigators and lawyers who would oversee all law enforcement agencies.
In theory, such a body could break the fraternal protectionism that shields corrupt officers. But Liberians are right to be skeptical: do we need another watchdog when the ones we already have are toothless, barking only when politics dictates?
The matter, then, returns to the Presidency. Boakai must demonstrate through action that his administration will not tolerate betrayal within the ranks of law enforcement. The dismissals must be followed by real investigations, and where the evidence warrants, criminal prosecutions. Anything less will only embolden traffickers and erode public trust.
And to Abraham Payne himself, the question must be asked: what if your daughter were addicted to drugs? Would you have used your position to shield her, or would you have acted to save her life by upholding the law? Instead, you threatened fellow officers, mocked the oath you swore, and enabled the very scourge destroying Liberia’s youth. This is not only poor professional leadership — it is poor parenting. No father should allow his child to drift into trafficking, much less protect her against the law when she does. If the allegations against you are investigated — and they must be — and found to be true, then the full weight of the law must come down on your head.
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President Boakai has an opportunity now to make good on his promises. Dismissing compromised leaders is a start, but prosecutions are the only proof the public will accept. Liberia cannot afford another cycle of corruption disguised as reform. Some have begun to mistake the President’s recent efforts at reconciliation for leniency toward corruption. That assumption must be crushed — swiftly and decisively.
The hand has been raised. Let it not tremble. Let it strike, Mr. President. The nation is watching.
