MONROVIA – The Liberia National Police (LNP) has concluded its investigation into Jerry Nyantee Wrato and will forward him to court on four cybercrime charges, rebuffing a public appeal from Vice President Jeremiah Kpan Koung for the young man’s release.
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By Rodney D. Sieh, [email protected]
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In a letter dated September 21 to Koung, Inspector General Gregory O. W. Coleman said Wrato will face charges of Misuse of Devices, Cyberstalking, Distribution of Data Messages That Incite Damage to Property or Violence, and Distribution of Harmful Data Messages — alleged violations of Sections 10.1, 15.1, 18.1 and 19.1 of the Cybercrime Act of 2025. The suspect is to be forwarded to a court of competent jurisdiction “tomorrow morning,” Coleman wrote.
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The letter was a direct response to a phone call Koung placed to Coleman, and to the Vice President’s subsequent public statement asking for Wrato’s release. Coleman thanked Koung for his “tolerance and restraint” but made clear the police would proceed regardless: “Once conduct potentially constituting a criminal offense comes to the attention of law enforcement, the matter is no longer determined solely by the personal wishes of the individual affected.”
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He said the LNP has a “statutory responsibility to investigate the allegations objectively,” and stressed that referring the case to court “does not constitute a determination of guilt” — Wrato retains the presumption of innocence and all constitutional protections pending trial.
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Wrato’s arrest followed AI-generated images and videos, circulated on Facebook, that appeared to depict Koung in a derogatory manner — content tied to earlier controversy over reports of the Vice President’s security screening at Brussels Airport, which Koung has denied. Executive Protection Service Director Sam Gaye defended applying the Cybercrime Act to manipulated political content.
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The law itself is barely a month old: the Senate passed it in November 2025, and President Boakai signed it on August 19, 2026 — a fact made awkward by Koung’s role as President of the Senate, the body that passed it, while he is also the case’s alleged victim.
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Former Finance Minister Samuel D. Tweah Jr. has called the law “draconian” and argued Koung should never have had to request Wrato’s release in the first place. Legal commentators have also raised a narrower question: whether a complainant can end a prosecution simply by declining to pursue it, given that criminal cases are ordinarily controlled by the state.
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