Random Thoughts

The Perspective
Atlanta, Georgia
August 21, 2022

Liberia's Corruption Trinity (Cephus, Twehway, & McGill)

US sanctions on the Chief of Staff of Dr. Dr. (Rev.?) President George M Weah, the Chief Prosecutor of the Republic, and the Managing Director of the National Port Authority are targeting the Weah administration at its core and hit the president’s inner circle. This happens at a time when Weah thought all was good in Washington, with all the lobbying. Lobbyists can’t sell what does not exist.

Sycophancy knows no limit in the land of shameless. Weah enablers and profiteers are either blaming the opposition for the anti-Weah lobby in Washington or dismissing the impact of the sanctions.

This is the closest thing could get to Weah without putting his name on the list. Does he realize that these sanctions are about him? Does he know these sanctions are meant to stop him from winning another term?

The problem is that Weah will not and cannot have an adequate appreciation of the gravity of these sanctions. That’s why he just suspended the culprits, rather than fire them.
Weah is a footballer. Nothing else. He has shown his limits and limitations. The US sanctions could serve as a wake-up call for him to get his acts together. But Weah can’t do anything new, he is wired differently.

McGill is the gatekeeper to the president, his closest confidant, and has risen to the level of de-facto prime minister. He went from assistant minister to running the presidency while Weah plays, prays, or dances. Cephas as a prosecutor practically runs the judiciary, above the minister, taking orders from McGill and Weah. The NPA manager had to be the most corrupt person in the administration. These, and the former advisers of Samuel Doe and Charles Taylor, constitute the inner circle of Weah. A man who has no clue about leadership is an ideal prey for corrupt and unsavory individuals.

Someone must explain to the President what this is all about. When they sanction your chief of staff, your chief prosecutor, and your financier, you are being sanctioned. Your wings are clipped. Senator Edwin Snowe knows.

At least half a dozen people in this administration have been indicted by the LACC. He never budged.

If Weah knew anything about his job, he would have fired his minister of agriculture and the chair of the national elections commission, and many others.

Weah will gladly come to Washington, Dc. With no shame. Ambassador Linda Greenfield once said that we must shame corrupt officials. What if people have no shame? Do the people indicted by LACC have any shame? It is good to have a president who knows nothing about his job. Anything goes.

His invitation to Dc will stand. He should come. We have to see him at a press conference. Hold town hall meetings with Liberians and face the National Press Club. Let him have a full hour with President Biden to talk about democracy, climate change, rule of law.

The individuals under these sanctions will face personal consequences but Weah’s administration has suffered a serious blow and will not recover from it. The untouchables have been proven vulnerable.

Liberians in the Diaspora feel the weight of everything that happens at home. Besides the stress of adjusting to immigrant life, they are constantly bombarded by bad news from home. At a heavy financial cost. Our US tax money is wasted by corrupt officials. Therefore corruption in Liberia is our business. We must shame corrupt officials.

Weah and his entourage will live with the fear that the other shoe could drop at any time. It shall and will.

You can’t expect a child to do a man's job. Re-electing Weah will endanger the nation. Liberia deserves better. So say our presidential aspirants. Time for them to rise up and free the country. The US has paved the road. “Seize the moment,” said the US Ambassador when he announced the sanctions. The opposition, are you listening?

In 1990, when all efforts failed to have Samuel Doe leave power, his ministers, advisers, military leaders, and others were given “invitations” - with visas and funds - to “attend meetings” in Ghana, Nigeria, or the US to never return. That’s how Doe was weakened and ended up dying alone. Now, the Reverse process is in motion.

Mr. Weah, the road to 2023 will be treacherous. Very long. A minefield. How many of your administration will be allowed to follow you to Dc