President Boakai's Name Surfaces in Testimony at Saudi Rice Diversion Trial
The Temple of Justice in Monrovia, seat of Liberia's judiciary (file photo, illustrative of Liberia's justice sector, not of this specific trial). Photo: Mixm4stermich, CC BY-SA 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons.
Testimony in the trial over an alleged diversion of Saudi-donated rice linked roughly 1,050 bags to a legitimate 2024 inauguration cleanup campaign coordinated through President Boakai's transition office, according to former GSA chief Mary T. Broh.
President Joseph Boakai's name entered the courtroom record this week in the trial over the alleged diversion of Saudi Arabia-donated rice, after a witness testified that part of the rice in question was distributed through a legitimate government cleanup campaign tied to his 2024 inauguration, rather than diverted for personal gain.
The case centers on 29,412 bags of rice donated by Saudi Arabia for disaster victims and vulnerable communities. Prosecutors allege that roughly 25,054 bags, valued at approximately US$425,918, were unlawfully diverted or remain unaccounted for. Former Foreign Minister Dee-Maxwell Saah Kemayah and several other officials face charges including theft, economic sabotage, misapplication of entrusted property, abuse of office and criminal conspiracy. All defendants have pleaded not guilty.
Testifying before Criminal Court "C" on Monday, September 29, former General Services Agency Director-General Mary T. Broh said John-Charuk Siafa, now Monrovia's City Mayor, had shown her an appointment letter from then-President-elect Boakai naming him to coordinate a post-inauguration cleanup campaign in January 2024. When the young people taking part in the cleanup needed food, Broh said, Siafa requested rice through proper channels from the Ministry of Internal Affairs, which was then supplied. She linked approximately 1,050 bags to that government-related request rather than to any personal diversion.
Broh also defended the transfer of 13,895 rice bags from the National Disaster Management Agency to the GSA, citing the agency's statutory role as custodian of government property, and described proper inventory, gate-pass and documentation procedures used in handling the rice. She characterized the indictment against her former colleagues as "character assassination" and said officials had acted within their mandates.
The trial continued on Tuesday, September 30, with Deputy Minister Momolu Johnson testifying and challenging the prosecution's accounting of the missing bags. Liberia Today notes that President Boakai himself is not a defendant in the case, and the testimony concerning his office relates to a documented cleanup campaign rather than any allegation against him personally. Liberia Today will continue to follow the trial as it proceeds.