Monrovia, Liberia – The Center for Transparency and Accountability in Liberia (CENTAL) has encouraged the government of Liberia to expedite the investigation and release the findings of the passport crisis as soon as possible.
The announcement from Foreign Minister Sara Beysolow Nyanti on March 18, 2024, directing the suspension of the July 2023 revised passport rule and the reinstatement of the March 2016 regulation, has been approved by CENTRAL. All diplomatic, official, and service passports possessed by individuals, both Liberians and non-Liberians, must be returned immediately, regardless of how long they have left on their validity.
Executive Director of CENTAL, Anderson D. Miamen said that while addressing differences in Liberian passport issuing is a desirable initiative, it should be made concurrently with the expeditious completion and dissemination of investigative findings regarding the purported sale of diplomatic passports.
In May 2022, President Weah issued an order to investigate and suspend the issuance of diplomatic passports in response to a report claiming that Sheik Bassirou Kante, a Liberian who had been detained in the US on charges of wire fraud and money laundering conspiracy, was in possession of a diplomatic passport from Liberia.
The statement also stated that, nearly two years after the investigation was commissioned, there is still no information available regarding the investigation’s status. Although the public is still unaware of the investigation’s conclusion, the announcement stated that President Weah has directed former Foreign Minister Maxwell Kemayah to report on the procedure surrounding the granting of a Diplomatic Passport by May 17, 2022.
There have been numerous controversies resulting from non-Liberians using diplomatic passports issued by Liberia, as documented in CENTAL’s 2023 State of Corruption Report (SCORE) and other publications. There have been instances of diplomatic passports being sold for more than US$200,000, according to CENTAL’s SCORE.
The press statement mentioned that in a report published in November 2022, it was disclosed that Samuel Kwame Arbekwah, a Liberian diplomat, killed himself at Istanbul International Airport in Turkey following his purported arrest for drug trafficking.
The CENTAL release encouraged the new Ministry of Foreign Affairs administration to expedite the release of findings from investigations into past scandals, while also expressing full support for the latest move by the Liberian government to recall diplomatic and service passports, given the dubious history of the country’s diplomatic passport issuance.
“Investigations must yield a conclusion. It is necessary to hold those responsible for the unauthorized sale of Liberian passports accountable. When these steps are implemented, the announcement stated, “the sanctity of Liberian diplomatic, service, and ordinary passports will be restored.”
