Liberia: President Boakai suspends drug control agency chief and his deputies due to internal disputes and damaging allegations

Monrovia – President Joseph N. Boakai, Sr. has suspended the Director General, Mr. Abraham S. Kromah, the Deputy Director General for Administration, Mr. Gbawu Kowou, and the Deputy Director General for Operations, Mr. Hassan Fadiga, from the Liberian Drug Enforcement Agency (LDEA).

A statement signed by Anthony V. Kesselly, assistant secretary of state for public affairs, said her suspension is effective immediately and without pay pending the outcome of the investigation.

“The President has since ordered an investigation into the events that occurred at the agency on June 3, 2024. He said: “The riots and chaos that took place at the LDEA headquarters were unacceptable.” Such acts, the President continued, threaten public peace and undermine the government’s fight against illegal drugs,” the statement said.

In the meantime, the President has appointed Mr. Christopher Peters as the Officer in Charge (OIC) of the agency until the investigation is completed. Peters is a well-trained security officer and comes highly recommended, the statement added.

The LDEA is wracked by internal disputes and bitter claims and counter-claims orchestrated by the three most senior officials, with Director Kromah on one side and his deputies on the other. These internal disputes culminated on Monday when a violent altercation broke out between Mr Kromah and Fadiga, leading to immediate intervention by Gregory Coleman, the Inspector General of the Liberian National Police, before the situation could be brought under control. The next day, Fadiga and Kowou made incriminating allegations against Kromah in a letter to Justice Minister Oswald Tweh. They alleged, among other things, that Kromah was protecting drug lords, employing his relatives and training former fighters outside of the protocols established by the LDEA. According to them, Kromah’s alleged actions have led the US State Department’s Bureau of International Narcotics and Law Enforcement and the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime to withdraw their support for the LDEA. Kromah has not yet commented, but at a press conference on Monday he said his deputies were intent on spreading rumors and untruths against him.