MONROVIA – The Political Chief of the New Liberia Get together (NLP), Dr. Joshua Tom Tuner, has accused the administration of President Joseph Nyuma Boakai of selling selective justice, lawlessness, and impunity, warning that Liberia is drifting towards authoritarianism underneath the guise of democracy.
By Emmanuel Weedee-Conway
In a press assertion issued on Wednesday, July 2, Dr. Tuner alleged that the Boakai-led authorities is “weaponizing the justice system” to focus on critics whereas defending loyalists allegedly implicated in corruption and abuse of workplace.
“The Liberian individuals didn’t vote for tyranny within the title of democracy. What we’re witnessing will not be the rule of regulation, however the rule of loyalty — the place social gathering cronies take pleasure in immunity and dissenting voices face persecution,” stated Dr. Tuner.
The opposition determine referenced what he known as a rising variety of unresolved instances involving authorities officers accused of economic misconduct and abuse of energy, who haven’t confronted investigations or authorized penalties. He argued that, in distinction, critics of the administration and opposition figures are being focused by regulation enforcement and subjected to public humiliation.
Dr. Tuner additionally criticized the nationwide safety sector, accusing the Liberia Nationwide Police (LNP) of partiality. He cited cases the place the police allegedly failed to answer violent assaults towards peaceable protesters and opposition supporters. He additional raised considerations in regards to the sluggish tempo of investigations into reported assaults on journalists.
“Liberia is steadily drifting into harmful waters the place solely those that sing praises to the regime are protected by regulation. That is precisely the kind of governance President Boakai promised to finish. At this time, his administration is embracing it with each arms,” he stated.
The Workplace of the President has not responded to the allegations. Nevertheless, each President Boakai and different authorities officers have publicly reaffirmed their dedication to transparency, accountability, and equal justice underneath the regulation.
Regardless of these assurances, Dr. Tuner maintained his criticism, describing a “sample of selective enforcement” within the authorities’s anti-corruption and justice efforts. He cited the Capitol Constructing arson case as a key instance.
In keeping with Dr. Tuner, Montserrado County District 5 Consultant Precilla Cooper, one of many people initially charged, was granted medical depart and later excluded from the ultimate indictment by the Grand Jury, at the same time as others in comparable conditions had been denied such reprieve.
“This authorities can not preach reform whereas practising repression. The Liberian individuals are watching, and we won’t be silent whereas democracy is strangled,” Dr. Tuner stated. He urged President Boakai to take concrete steps to make sure neutral justice, institutional independence, and equal software of the rule of regulation.
