Published: September 24, 2025
GBARNGA, Bong County — David C. Karshue, commissioner of Bong County District 2, has raised alarm over what he described as a growing wave of domestic and gender-based violence, warning that the absence of a police depot and magisterial court in the area is fueling impunity.
In an interview with on Monday, Karshue expressed frustration that his district — one of the most populated The Liberian Investigator subdivisions of Bong — remains without a police presence, leaving communities to fend for themselves.
Karshue said that without officers on the ground, residents are often forced to arrest offenders themselves and hold them until police from Gbarnga arrive. In some cases, he added, perpetrators overpower community members and escape.
“This is embarrassing. We have made numerous calls but to no avail,” he said.
The commissioner also noted that when officers are contacted in Gbarnga, they frequently demand money for transportation before responding. “A lot of young people here are violent. If you call the police, they will ask you to transport them, and we don’t have the money,” he explained.
Karshue lamented that women and children are the most frequent victims, often subjected to gender-based violence without access to justice.
Asked what his office is doing to reduce crime, Karshue stressed the limits of his authority. “I don’t have the power to jail people because I’m just a commissioner,” he said.
The challenge is compounded by the lack of a magisterial court in the district. During the opening of the August 2025 Term of Court, Resident Judge Boimah Kontoe of the Ninth Judicial Circuit Court called for more magisterial courts in Bong, noting that the county — Liberia’s third most populated with 467,561 people — has only nine courts, many in poor condition.
The absence of both police and courts has left many residents of District 2 living in fear. Cases of violence often go unresolved, undermining confidence in the justice system.
Former representative candidate Jerry Kerkulah Kollie once began constructing a police depot in the district but abandoned the project after losing the 2023 election. The community remains without a functioning station.
Karshue said unless urgent steps are taken to establish law enforcement and judicial infrastructure in District 2, violence and lawlessness will continue unchecked. “Our people deserve
Discussion about this post