By Tetee Gebro, gender correspondent with New Narratives
Summary:
- Tiawan Gongloe, longtime human rights lawyer and former solicitor general, says police have failed to provide the full DNA and investigative report that cleared former Deputy Minister Bryant McGill in a rape case involving a 14-year-old girl.
- Police say DNA testing conducted abroad and cellphone data excluded McGill from the alleged crime and led them to issue what they describe as a “Police Confirmation Clearance.”
- Civil society groups say the case remains open and transparency is critical to maintaining public trust in sexual violence investigations.
Human rights lawyer Tiawan Saye Gongloe says the Liberia National Police has not released the full DNA and investigative report that cleared former Deputy Youth and Sports Minister Bryant McGill in a rape case involving a 14-year-old girl, more than a month after he requested the documents.
“I take it they’re probably studying the request, to be optimistic,” Gongloe said. “But people who serve in government have a responsibility to be answerable to the people they serve.”
Police say DNA testing and digital evidence cleared McGill of the allegation. But the Liberia National Police has not released the full investigative file to the alleged survivor’s lawyer, leaving the family unable to review the evidence behind the decision.
President Joseph Nyuma Boakai suspended McGill in September 2025 after the allegation surfaced, saying the move was intended to allow a transparent investigation.
Young Liberians march in Monrovia this month demanding more action to stop rape from Boakai administration.
Police have twice publicly announced that DNA and digital evidence cleared McGill of the allegation.
“The Liberia National Police have for a second time publicly cleared former Deputy Youth and Sports Minister J. Bryant McGill in connection with the alleged rape of a 14-year-old girl,” Gongloe said. “But despite announcing that DNA, digital and forensic evidence exonerate him, police have not released the full investigative or DNA report.”
“From August 30 to February, it took the police that long to reach a conclusion,” he said. “For something like DNA analysis to take that long creates suspicion.”
Gongloe said if police continue to withhold the report he will escalate the matter.
“I will write the Minister of Justice because I wrote the police and I have no answer,” Gongloe said. “As the supervising authority in the justice system, the Minister can make the report public. The information is important.”
Earlier this year, Gregory Coleman, inspector general of the Liberian National Police, told a news conference that “telecommunications and GPS data excluded Mr. McGill’s presence at the alleged crime scene.”
Liberia has limited forensic DNA capacity and sends samples abroad for testing. Coleman said the analysis was conducted through “international forensic partners.” A document issued by the Liberia National Police titled “Police Confirmation Clearance” said DNA testing conducted by the Forensics Institute in Kigali, Rwanda found that genetic material recovered from the complainant’s clothing did not match McGill’s DNA profile.
“Based on the totality of digital, forensic and physical evidence, the Liberia National Police exonerated Mr. Bryant McGill,” Coleman said.
The document also states that cellphone tower data placed McGill in Thinkers Village between 5:30 p.m. and 9:00 p.m. on August 28, 2025 — contradicting the timeline in which the alleged assault was reported to have occurred.
When New Narratives first reported on Gongloe’s request on January 19, Coleman said police had not officially received it. Gongloe provided FrontPage Africa/New Narratives with a copy of the letter dated January 13, 2026, signed at police headquarters: “INSP: Fayiah at 12:36hrs.”
For this follow-up story, New Narratives contacted police spokesman Sam Collins who said the legal team must file a formal request under Liberia’s Freedom of Information law to obtain the full investigative report. He said the details being requested have not yet been presented in court and the documents remain with the police. According to Collins, submitting the request is the standard procedure for accessing police records at this stage of the investigation.
Gongloe says his demand for transparency is a constitutional right.
“Article Fifteen, Subsection C is clear,” he said. “The people of Liberia have a right to know about their government and its functionaries.”
And, he said, rape investigations involving minors must be treated as a national priority.
“It’s not discretionary. It’s mandatory. It’s a public duty.”
He also questioned how the case was handled suggesting it appeared to represent special treatment for a senior official.
“Any young man from a poor community accused of rape is usually handcuffed immediately,” he said. “That did not happen in this case.”
Gongloe said he has never known police to delay arrest while awaiting phone analysis or DNA testing.
“Probable cause means something happened and it looks like you did it — and therefore you come under the law immediately. This case was made special in the wrong way.”
Gongloe also raised concerns about the forensic timeline.
Shortly before police announced they had received DNA results, he said officers contacted him asking that the alleged survivor return to provide additional specimens.
“I questioned it,” he said. “Earlier we were told the necessary specimens had already been taken. What new specimen can you take?”
He said bringing the girl back risked re-traumatizing her.
“In my view, if they still needed something, then the scientific investigation was inconclusive. How then could they conclusively announce a result?”
Anti-rape campaigners in Monrovia in 2020
Anti-rape campaigners in Monrovia in 2020
Civil society groups have added to Gongloe’s call for transparency.
Madame Catherine Kollie Gbidi, executive director of Women for Positive Action, said police informed her that DNA results did not link McGill to the crime but that the case itself has not been closed. Other individuals seen in CCTV footage may still be under review.
“The investigation is ongoing,” Gbidi said. “No one should be left untouched. Justice requires thoroughness.”
She said communication in sexual violence cases must be handled carefully and backed Gongloe’s call for a response to his request for more information.
“Transparency is very important. I don’t think the police should ignore him.”
Gongloe warns the case risks fanning distrust that the Boakai administration is working to build.
“Government survives on public trust,” he said. “When you undermine that trust, you hurt your own government.”
He warned that secrecy sends a troubling message to survivors.
“It undermines their hope. It shows the system is still challenged.”
He has called on the president to establish a special investigation committee.
“If he suspended the deputy minister to ensure a fair process, then this matter is important to the nation,” Gongloe said. “If the police do not act transparently, it shows disrespect not just to the public, but to the head of government.”
This story was a collaboration with New Narratives as part of the “Investigating Liberia” project. Funding was provided by a private donor and the Swedish International Development Cooperation Agency. The funder had no say in the story’s content.
