Activist says investigation should “follow the evidence” after viral video and allegations linked Jojo Boakai to Liberia’s major cocaine cases.
Monrovia – Solidarity and Trust for a New Day (STAND) Chairman Mulbah K. Morlu has called for an independent criminal investigation into President Joseph Nyuma Boakai’s son, Joseph “Jojo” Boakai Jr., following allegations linking him to Liberia’s recent multi-million-dollar cocaine trafficking cases.
Speaking amid the fallout from the country’s record cocaine seizures, Morlu argued that the government’s dismissal of several officials implicated in the investigations is insufficient to dismantle what he described as a deeply rooted criminal network.
“Dismissing a few officials is not justice,” Morlu said. “Liberia must expose and investigate the entire network wherever the evidence leads.”
Calls for Independent Investigation
Morlu said President Boakai should authorize an independent investigation into allegations made against his son, stressing that no individual should be immune from scrutiny because of family ties or political influence.
According to Morlu, allegations against Boakai Jr. originated from an individual alleged to have ties to an international drug trafficking network, who claimed that the President’s son facilitated the movement of cocaine and received payments related to the operation.
FrontPage Africa has not independently verified those allegations, and no charges have been filed against Boakai Jr.
“Being the son of the sitting President does not place Mr. Jojo Boakai beyond investigation, prosecution, or imprisonment if the evidence so warrants,” Morlu said.
He added that public confidence in Liberia’s justice system depends on investigations being conducted without regard to political connections.
Viral Video Fuels Controversy
The controversy intensified after a video circulated on social media showing armed men displaying what they claimed were samples of cocaine seized during the July 21 operation in the VOA Community outside Monrovia.
In the video, the men accused Boakai Jr. of betraying them and demanded the return of what they described as “our goods.”
The authenticity of the video’s claims has not been independently verified.
Boakai Jr. Denies Allegations
Responding publicly for the first time in several years, Boakai Jr. categorically denied any involvement in narcotics trafficking.
He said he received threatening WhatsApp messages from a number reportedly traced to Colombia accusing him of involvement in drug trafficking. According to him, he immediately blocked the number and reported the matter to both the Liberia National Police and the National Security Agency.
Boakai Jr. said he later discovered that his WhatsApp profile picture and phone number had been used in the viral video.
“The next day, a video surfaced online showing my WhatsApp profile picture, my phone number, and the threatening message,” he said.
Friendship With Mark Kuiah
Boakai Jr. also addressed public scrutiny over his friendship with Mark Egon Kuiah, who has been linked to the vessel IB Atlantic IV, reportedly associated with an ongoing investigation off Grand Cape Mount County.
Describing Kuiah as a longtime friend, Boakai Jr. said he had never known him to be involved in criminal activity.
“Friendship is not immunity from the law,” he said. “If any friend of mine is found to have violated the laws of this Republic, that person must answer before the law like every other citizen.”
Morlu argued that Kuiah’s alleged connection to the vessel and his relationship with Boakai Jr. further underscore the need for an independent investigation into all individuals whose names have surfaced during the drug investigations.
“Jojo Boakai and every other individual whose alleged connections are supported by credible evidence should be questioned by independent investigators,” Morlu said. “Liberia cannot uncover the truth by focusing solely on lower-level operatives.”
“No One Should Be Above the Law”
Morlu reminded President Boakai of his public commitment that no one would be above the law and that investigations would follow the evidence wherever it leads.
“That commitment must remain unwavering,” he said. “It cannot end at the gates of the Executive Mansion, nor can it be set aside because the evidence may implicate politically connected or influential individuals.”
While acknowledging the dismissal of government officials implicated in the cocaine investigations, Morlu maintained that targeting only lower-ranking officials would not dismantle organized drug trafficking networks.
He argued that large-scale cocaine trafficking requires financing, protection, institutional complicity and corruption.
“Justice cannot stop where power begins,” Morlu said. “A criminal enterprise cannot be dismantled by removing only its foot soldiers while leaving untouched those who directed, financed, protected, facilitated, or benefited from its operations.”
National Campaign
Morlu concluded by calling on political parties, religious organizations, civil society groups, youth and women’s organizations, traditional leaders and members of the Liberian diaspora to support what STAND described as a national campaign to “Save the State.”
He said the coalition would soon announce a series of constitutional civic actions aimed at demanding full accountability in the country’s anti-drug campaign.
“We will not retreat, regardless of the cost,” Morlu said. “We will continue our pursuit without pause or compromise until every financier, protector, collaborator, and mastermind of this criminal enterprise is identified and brought before the law.”
