MONROVIA – A court is only as brave as its witnesses. Liberia’s young Witness Protection Agency is trying to make speaking out safer. At a Monrovia workshop backed by the United Nations and European Union, its Director laid out the agency’s progress. Maxwell Grigsby also pushed to amend two laws passed in 2021. The urgency behind his appeal is plain enough to see. A promised War and Economic Crimes Court will rise or fall on people willing to testify. Few will speak while afraid for their lives. Grigsby cast protection as a duty shared across police, courts and society. As THE ANALYST reports, officials warned that public trust in justice now depends on keeping witnesses safe.
Liberia’s young Witness Protection Agency (WPA) is pressing to strengthen the shield around those who testify, staking its case on the courts the country still hopes to build. At a Monrovia workshop backed by the United Nations and the European Union (EU), the agency’s director laid out its progress and pushed for reforms to two laws passed in 2021.
The urgency, officials said, is plain. A promised War and Economic Crimes Court will rise or fall on witnesses willing to speak, and few will speak while afraid. Director Maxwell Grigsby cast protection as a shared duty across police, courts and civil society, warning that public trust in justice depends on it.
A Young Agency
Grigsby made the remarks at an introductory workshop on the judicial protection of victims, witnesses and whistleblowers, held in Monrovia. He welcomed partners from the Ministry of Justice (MOJ), the Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR) and the EU, along with colleagues who travelled from Nimba, Bong, Lofa, Sinoe and Grand Cape Mount Counties.
Also represented were the Office for the Establishment of the War and Economic Crimes Court for Liberia, the Liberia Anti-Corruption Commission, the Judiciary, the Liberia National Police, the Independent National Commission on Human Rights (INCHR), the Law Reform Commission and the Liberia National Bar Association, as well as civil society and youth-led organizations. Their presence, Grigsby said, showed a shared goal: a justice system in which victims, witnesses and whistleblowers can speak the truth without fear.
Grigsby said the Legislature enacted the Witness Protection Act and the Whistleblower Act in 2021, and that these laws created the WPA as an autonomous agency under the Executive Branch. He explained that the agency administers the Liberia Witness Protection Program across three stages: investigation and pre-hearing, hearing, and post-trial.
At every stage, he said, the agency protects the safety, confidentiality and welfare of witnesses and whistleblowers before, during and after judicial proceedings. “Simply put, we exist so that no Liberian has to choose between telling the truth and staying safe,” Grigsby said.
Progress Since Launch
Following the appointment and commissioning of the director and deputy director in November 2025, the agency moved quickly to become operational. Grigsby said that by January 2026 it had recruited staff, set up key units, including its Protection, Psychosocial, Program and Policy, and Human Resource units, and secured offices on Sekou Toure Avenue, opposite the Ministry of Justice.
In May 2026, the agency launched national consultations to amend the Witness Protection Act and the Whistleblower Act. Beyond building structures, Grigsby said, it has also begun building relationships with justice and security actors, civil society and the communities it serves.
He credited OHCHR with steadfast technical and financial support, including a dedicated consultant assigned to work side by side with the agency’s team. That partnership, he said, produced a draft five-year strategic plan to guide the growth and direction of the WPA, which stakeholders will meet to review and validate on September 24 and 25.
Reforming Two Laws
Grigsby said the ongoing review of the two Acts began with the May consultations, through which the agency listened to justice institutions, oversight bodies and civil society. The review aims to close gaps in the current laws, clarify roles and procedures, and align both Acts with international human rights standards.
Equally important, he said, the amendments will clarify how the agency relates to the future War and Economic Crimes Court and the National Anti-Corruption Court. As Liberia moves forward with its transitional-justice agenda, Grigsby warned, those courts will depend on witnesses who feel safe enough to testify, making a strong and modern legal framework essential rather than optional.
A Shared Duty
Grigsby said OHCHR and the WPA, with the support of the EU, organized the workshop around three objectives. The first was to take stock of where Liberia stands in implementing its framework for the judicial protection of victims, witnesses and whistleblowers, including a human rights defenders’ protection policy that the Ministry of Justice developed with the INCHR, civil society and OHCHR, and which now awaits Cabinet endorsement.
The second objective, he said, was for an international expert on witness protection to present the essential features of protection frameworks developed by national, internationalized and international courts, and to share lessons learned and best practices. The third was to discuss strategies to deliver holistic services, including mental health and psychosocial support.
“Protection means caring for the whole person, not only guarding their physical safety,” Grigsby said. He encouraged participants to take part actively, to ask difficult questions and to share their own experiences from the field, noting that the facilitator would combine presentations with practical exercises and group discussions.
In closing, Grigsby reminded the gathering that protection is a shared responsibility that no single institution can carry alone. He said the WPA needs the police, the courts, prosecutors, correctional officers, lawmakers, human rights institutions and civil society to work with it as one team, adding that the trust they build together will, in turn, strengthen justice and accountability in Liberia.
See more Liberia News Network stories in Google Search by adding LNN as one of your Preferred Sources.
★ Add LNN as a Preferred Source