— At this year’s first Cabinet Meeting, President Boakai directs law enforcement to solve mysterious deaths
Executive Mansion, Monrovia – President Joseph Nyuma Boakai, Sr., has ordered “a full-scale investigation into unresolved cases of mysterious deaths, including the missing boys, the deaths of auditors, and other cases of national concern.” This announcement came through an Executive Mansion press release Monday.
Addressing his Cabinet at its first formal convening, the President directed law enforcement to “expedite [outstanding] investigations, collaborate with international partners if necessary, and provide regular updates to the public.”
“[This] Administration will not tolerate impunity and is committed to full transparency,” he said, adding, “the Liberian people deserve answers.”
The release was silent on how far back the administration would go to cover unsolved cases. By all indications, the focus would be on deaths occurring under former President George Manneh Weah’s administration – a fact that may raise the eyebrows of those grieving loved one’s dead before 2018.
Here is a cheat sheet of the suspected murders mentioned – and more:
The Central Bank Official
In the wee hours of Sunday, March 3, 2019, Matthew Innis was found dead on the 72nd Boulevard Road, reportedly due to a “hit-and-run” accident. He was the Deputy Director for Micro-finance in the Regulation and Supervision Department, at the Central Bank of Liberia (CBL). According to close family members, Innis had left home for work at the CBL Saturday morning and had been unreachable until that night.
Prior to his death, CBL came under fire for alleged illegal printing of Liberian Dollar banknotes in 2016 and 2017 and the fraudulent conduct of a US$25 million currency mop-up in 2018. Kroll and Associates, a US-based forensic auditing firm tasked with investigating the two cases, found insufficient evidence to determine intentional wrongdoing in the currency printing case. It, however, found foul play likely in the mop-up, which was driven by newly appointed Weah Administration officials. Innis had joined the Bank in 2009 and risen through its ranks. He was buried on March 30th, after the LNP had taken possession of the body pending an autopsy they never conducted.
The Auditors
On October 2, 2020, two Liberia Revenue Authority (LRA) personnel – Gifty Lama, Acting Manager for Tax Services, and Albert Peters, Assistant Commissioner for Audit – were found naked and dead in the back seat of a car on Broad Street, on Monrovia’s Snapper Hill. The families of both officials had reported them missing 24 hours before they were discovered. According to the authorities, an autopsy showed the pair died from inhaling Carbon Monoxide from gasoline/hydrocarbon fumes and fumes from a defective exhaust system in the floor of the car.
On October 4th, George Fanbutu, another LRA auditor, was reportedly killed in a car accident, on 72nd Boulevard, while heading home from a work meeting. His autopsy report waxed technical: “he sustained injuries to his head, chest and abdomen. The cause of his death has been attributed to right frontal cerebral contusion and disruption of brain, with hemorrhages; right frontal complex depressed comminuted fracture; vehicle in head collision and side impact with house; and road traffic accident.” It didn’t not confirm or deny foul play.
Early Saturday, October 10, 2020, eyewitnesses found Emmanuel Barten Nyeswua, Director-General of the Liberia Internal Audit Agency (LAA), dead outside his home. He had reportedly returned home from D’Calabash restaurant on Congo Town Back road with some friends, who left him at his 72nd Boulevard home around midnight. At that wee hour the drive would have taken no more than 15 minutes.
The death reportedly occurred at 2 a.m. Initial reports held that he had accidentally fallen through a window from the top floor of his two-story home and died instantly. Others believe he may have been aggressively pushed from that 13-foot height. An autopsy confirmed he died from a “massive hemorrhage, multiple bony and soft tissue injuries and blunt injuries consistent with fall from height,” but recommended further police investigation to rule his death an accident, a homicide, or a suicide.
The Missing “Boys”
On October 17, 2020, three men – Robert M. Blamo, Jr., 29; Bobby S. Gbeanquoi, 32; and Siafa Gbana Boimah, 34 – reportedly drowned when their canoe capsized as it crossed a river in Fuama District, lower Bong County. The trio were believed to have been returning home, after fulfilling a contract at the Oriental Mining Company owned and operated by Abraham S. Samuels and Moses H. Ahossouhe. The latter also owns the St. Moses Funeral Parlor in Gardnerville.
Ahossoue expressed regret about the alleged deaths of the three young men. He further denied wrongdoing, saying he was not on the scene of the incident, and “was only told that the canoe capsized, and we lost these guys.”
Although the Weah Administration had formed an Independent Panel to investigate the incident, its report has yet to be released. In October 2022, the families of the victims took their case to the ECOWAS Court in Abuja, issuing a written petition that the authorities be made to release the report. The Panel comprised the Ministry of Justice, LNP, the Association of Female Lawyers (AFFLL), The Independent National Commission on Human Rights (INCHR), the Inter-religious Council, and heads of various government agencies.
The EPS Officer
On Friday, February 19, 2021, longtime Executive Protection Service (EPS) agent, Melvin Earley, allegedly committed suicide. The preliminary report said he shot himself three times before dying. Earley was traveling as part of President Weah’s security detail, during his county tour to Nimba County. The incident occurred in Tappita, not far from the Jackson Doe Memorial Hospital. He was said to have been on duty at 6:03 a.m., when the incident occurred. He is not said to have left a suicide note.
The Girl and ELWA Junction
On March 24, 2022, Princess Cooper was found dead in a pool of blood, in the back yard of the Fawaz Building Materials & General Goods Store Inc., at ELWA Junction in Paynesville.
She was a professional Caterer, who had reportedly finished a catering job around the Capitol By-Pass in Monrovia, when she received a call and told her workmates that she was leaving and would shortly return. She later made a video call on Messenger to a female friend who heard Cooper say, “They killing me ooh! La here they killing me ooh!” and saw blood coming out of the deceased’s mouth before she died.
The Former Chief Justice’s Niece
On the night of February 22, 2023, Charloe Musu, 28, was murdered at the Virginia residence of her aunt, former Chief Justice Gloria Musu-Scott. Two attempted break-ins reportedly preceded the incident, neither of which triggered any immediate investigation by the Liberia National Police (LNP). Instead, Justice Musu-Scoott and three other female relatives were convicted of murder in December 2023 and sentenced to life in prison the following January. The four defendants were acquitted in August 2024, having appealed to the Supreme Court. Chief Justice Sie-A-Nyene Yuoh ruled that the state had failed to provide sufficient evidence linking her predecessor and the co-defendants to the crime. Musu was finally laid to rest last September. No other suspect has been found linked to her death.
Michael Allison
On Friday, February 13, 2015, Counsellor Michael Allison turned up dead on a Sinkor beach, in Monrovia. Eyewitnesses reportedly found him lying in his underwear and foaming at the mouth. A seasoned lawyer, he had served as a consultant at the House of Representatives tasked with drafting petroleum legislation. In the exercise of that duty, he played whistleblower, exposing an alleged payment from the National Oil Company of Liberia to the Legislature apparently aimed to influence legal reform in the sector.
Harry Greaves
On January 31, 2016, Harry Greaves, former Managing Director of the Liberia Petroleum and Refining Company (LPRC) was found dead on the beach near the Ministry of Foreign Affairs. The Police report ruling his death a drowning met with widespread skepticism among the victim’s friends and family, who insist he was murdered.
Speaking at his Cabinet meeting, President Boakai declared, “No case will be ignored as we will bring closure to these tragedies and ensure justice is served.”
President Joseph Nyuma Boakai, Sr., has made it clear that his Administration is focused on delivering results for the Liberian people now, not nursing political ambitions for 2029.
Opening the first Cabinet meeting of the year, the President issued a strong message to his ministers. He warned, “If your focus is on 2029, you may respectfully resign. My priority is serving the Liberian people—right now.”
The President reaffirmed his commitment to a governance system that prioritizes national development, accountability, and urgent reforms.
“The time for talk is over “he said. “The Liberian people expect results, and we must deliver.”
He urged all stakeholders, including law enforcement agencies, government institutions, and civil society, to cooperate fully in the ongoing investigations and the implementation of other directives relating to economic governance.
