Weah Accuses Boakai of "Tampering With Justice," Plans Prison Visit to Howard-Taylor

Former President George Weah used a press appearance at his Paynesville residence on September 2 to accuse President Joseph Boakai's government of tampering with the rule of law through what he described as selective justice. "I think the rule of law is being tampered with. It is wrong, tampering with justice," Weah said, pointing to the recent Justice Ministry reshuffle, in which Cllr. Betty Lamin-Blamo replaced Oswald Tweh as Justice Minister alongside a new Solicitor General, as evidence of instability inside the justice system.

Weah reserved his sharpest criticism for the ongoing drug case against his former running mate and vice president, Jewel Howard-Taylor, who remains in detention at Monrovia Central Prison. He dismissed the charges as "bogus and unacceptable," arguing the government lacks a credible case against her, and announced that he intends to visit her in prison. Howard-Taylor's legal team has separately been fighting both her house-arrest conditions and testimony in a related assassination-plot case, disputes Liberia Today has covered as they have unfolded.

The former president tied his criticism to the broader political rivalry between his Coalition for Democratic Change and the Boakai administration, which narrowly defeated him in the 2023 election by fewer than 3,000 votes. Weah argued that the CDC offered better governance during its term and warned that selectively applying the law to political opponents sets a dangerous precedent regardless of who is in power.

The Executive Mansion has not issued a formal response to Weah's remarks. The intervention adds a prominent voice to a wider debate already underway in Monrovia, where civil society coalitions have separately pressed Boakai on judicial reform and anti-corruption courts ahead of Liberia's upcoming presidency of the UN Security Council.